BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana Supreme Court said Wednesday that an East Baton Rouge Parish judge it previously suspended for violating a number of judicial guidelines can return to the bench this summer. Four justices agreed to a settlement negotiated by Judge Eboni Johnson Rose and a disciplinary panel; three justices wanted a harsher penalty.

Acting on a request from the state Judiciary Commission, justices last August removed Rose amid questions about whether she was competent to serve on the bench. It issued another six-month suspension Wednesday but waived all but two months of it. Rose will also be on probation for two years.

She also must pay $11,196.11 over the next 18 months to cover the cost of the investigation and to pay judges who bore part of her caseload. While she was suspended, Rose was paid her full salary and also received a stipend worth nearly $15,000.

The WBRZ Investigative Unit had reported last year that Rose had erred in a number of cases brought before her. Justices cited the reports in their unsigned order Wednesday.

According to the court, Rose made serious legal errors in three relatively straightforward cases and, in a fourth, used a racial slur while potentially indicating bias toward the local district attorney's office. Rose later admitted her conduct violated judicial standards and negotiated the settlement approved Wednesday.

Several justices were not happy that Rose, while suspended, received more than $100,000 of her salary while replacement judges earned more than $60,000.

Justice Jay B. McCallum said Rose had engaged in "egregious" conduct and that the result wasn't punishment at all.

"According to the sanction meted out by a majority of this court, she should receive what amounts to a nine-month paid holiday and a $15,000 bonus paid in the form of a one-time stipend," he wrote. "This court has confused a sanction with a reward."

Chief Justice John L. Weimer, too, called Rose's conduct egregious and said a more significant penalty would have been appropriate, even if Rose was relatively newly elected.

"While even experienced judges can make mistakes, the charges here demonstrate repeated mistakes, bias, and racially charged comments which have no place in a court of law, regardless of one's level of experience," he wrote. 

Justice William J. Crain said it was unfair that Rose received her salary while suspended, which is required by the state constitution. 

"This is the equivalent of a paid vacation," he wrote.

Justice Cade R. Cole said he concurred so the case would end now. He said the investigation shouldn't have taken eight months and that the court should change its rules so judges suspended under circumstances in the future wouldn't benefit.

"This provides Judge Rose a fully paid vacation while the court pays the cost of the replacement judge actually doing her work," he wrote. Rejecting the settlement would mean extending the case and be "a punishment to the taxpayers instead of the judge."

In addition to media accounts about Rose's actions, complaints came in from the local district attorney and a woman whose criminal case went before Rose. 

District Attorney Hillar Moore III offered only limited remarks because he had not yet seen the agreement between Rose and the disciplinary commission. 

"I appreciate the Judiciary Commission’s thorough investigation into this unfortunate matter, as well as the commission’s commitment to ensuring all Louisiana judges remain ethical and free of bias," he said in a statement. "The Louisiana Supreme Court has allowed Judge Rose to return to the bench in 2 months, in a probationary capacity, and I respect the high court’s decision."

When announcing the suspension last summer, justices said the case would be resolved by February but the court later granted an extension for a further review. Another delay was granted this month.

Rose’s father and uncle are also judges in the 19th District. Her uncle is former Chief Judge Don Johnson. While on suspension, she ran for a seat on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal and lost.

Among the errors previously cited by the justices:

--Rose acquitted a former Broadmoor Elementary teacher of aggravated assault, but after meeting with jurors realized they had wanted to convict the woman. She summoned the defendant to court and changed the verdict from “not guilty” to “guilty.” The Supreme Court ordered the woman acquitted.

--Rose determined that a Baton Rouge police officer was guilty of misdemeanor malfeasance, a crime that doesn’t exist. Appellate courts determined the officer was guilty of a felony offense.

--Rose reduced an arsonist’s sentence so much that the term violated state law.

--Rose used offensive language believing lawyers weren’t ready for court: “This case is God-damn four years old and that’s the best you can come up with? You’re just going to what, stick every n***** in jail?”

McCallum said Rose's language was particularly upsetting.

"I would note that some of Judge Rose's comments were also blasphemous, as she invoked the name of God in her profanity," he wrote in a footnote. "It is an unfortunate commentary that the name of God is so commonly used in this way that it no longer elicits shock or surprise."

Rose’s lawyers had argued against the suspension, noting her “unintentional mistakes or oversights” resulted in no personal gain.

A temporary judge was appointed last August to handle Rose’s docket, and other jurists also sat in over the past few months.

With the two-month suspension, Rose should be able to return to the bench in late June.