Sheva Sims
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Sheva Sims is a judge on the Shreveport City Court District 2, Division 2 in Louisiana.[1] She was first elected to the court in 2011, to a term expiring in December 2014. Sims was then re-elected in 2014 to a full six-year term, commencing on January 1, 2015, and ending on December 31, 2020.[2][3]
Elections
2014
See also: Louisiana judicial elections, 2014
Sims ran for re-election to the Shreveport City Court.
Primary: She was elected in the primary on November 4, 2014, receiving 69.5 percent of the vote. She competed against Terrell J. Myles.
[2][3]
2011
Sims advanced to the runoff election, having won 32.87% of the vote in the primary. She was elected to the Shreveport City Court, defeating Shante' Wells with 53.91% of the vote.[4][5][6]
Education
Sims received a B.S. in mathematics from Dillard University, and a J.D. from the Southern University Law Center.[7]
Career
Prior to her election to the court, Sims worked as an attorney in Shreveport, Louisiana.[8]
Noteworthy events
Louisiana Supreme Court suspends Sims
On March 17, 2015, the Louisiana Supreme Court suspended Sims without pay for 30 days. The court found that Sims had committed willful misconduct on April 24, 2012, when she wrongfully held an assistant city prosecutor, Katherine Gilmer, in contempt of court, and then dismissed 15 cases on the criminal docket that day. Before Sims became a judge, she and Gilmer had faced off in a number of cases. According to the court's opinion, Gilmer had disagreed with the way Sims had been handling certain cases on April 24, and Sims had felt that Gilmer's actions (flailing her arms and rolling her eyes) were in disrespect of her judicial authority.[9][10]
Gilmer later apologized for her actions, and Sims dismissed the contempt charge. However, after local news agencies reported on the incident, the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana filed formal charges against Sims on September 25, 2013, for violating canons one, two and three of the Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct.[9][11] Specifically, the court found that Sims had "committed legal error by failing to follow the proper procedure for addressing a direct contempt," and "acted improperly solely due to her personal frustration." She was also charged with "erroneously dismissing fifteen cases before her on April 24, 2012."[9][10]
See also
External links
- Facebook.com, "Re-Elect Judge Sheva Sims"
- Shreveport Times, "Attorney sues Shreveport City Court Judge Sheva Sims," September 15, 2014
Footnotes
- ↑ KTBS.com, "Caddo tax assessor draws Tea Party opponent," September 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Louisiana Secretary of State, "November 4, 2014 General Election Candidates," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Louisiana Secretary of State, "Unofficial Election Results, Results for Election Date: 11/4/2014," accessed November 7, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Election Results, 11/19/11," accessed November 7, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "2011 Election Results," accessed November 7, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Database," accessed November 7, 2014 Scroll to October 22 candidates
- ↑ Sheva Sims for City Court Judge campaign website, accessed September 19, 2014
- ↑ Shreveport Times, "Briefly: Sims announces run for city judge seat," August 23, 2011
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Supreme Court of Louisiana, "In re: Judge Sheva M. Sims," March 17, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Louisiana Record, "Shreveport judge suspended for willful misconduct in wrongfully holding attorney in contempt of court," March 17, 2015
- ↑ Louisiana Supreme Court, "Code of Judicial Conduct," accessed March 18, 2015
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana
State courts:
Louisiana Supreme Court • Louisiana Courts of Appeal • Louisiana District Courts • Louisiana City Courts • Louisiana Family Courts • Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts • Louisiana Juvenile Courts • Louisiana Mayor’s Courts • Louisiana Municipal Courts • Louisiana Parish Courts • Louisiana Traffic Courts
State resources:
Courts in Louisiana • Louisiana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Louisiana
