After serving his sentence last month for three counts of theft of $6,000 in state money, William Roe, a former Plaquemines 25th Judicial Court Judge, has been permanently barred from practicing law in Louisiana. 

The Louisiana Supreme Court announced the decision March 2, saying Roe’s disbarment is retroactive to October 14, 2009— the date his law license was temporarily suspended in light of his conviction.

In 2008, Roe and former probation officer Rodney Penton were indicted by a grand jury convened by the state attorney’s office for multiple counts of felony theft and malfeasance in office, following a legislative audit that exposed mismanagement at the 25th Judicial District Court—an audit initiated by Roe. 

Roe was accused of double-dipping on reimbursements for legal seminars in June 2005, June 2006 and June 2007. He asked the State Supreme Court to cover $6,581 in expenses acquired at three annual Florida legal retreats, even though the Plaquemines court paid for the trips.

Roe has defended the charges by saying he repaid the state court in cash, and the money was not properly tracked. 

The audit also accused Penton of accepting cash payments to delete traffic citations and overseeing a court bank account when over half of the probation-monitoring fees disappeared.

In September 2009, Roe was convicted of three misdemeanor counts of unauthorized use of movables and was ordered to report to jail. However, the judge allowed him to remain free until his appeals were exhausted. He reported to jail December 20, 2011 and was released February 2.