Suzanne H. Stinson has recently been elected as chair for the Louisiana Judiciary Commission.
The members of the Judiciary Commission serve as an extension of the eyes and ears of the Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court. They are the independent and preliminary “fact finders.” They conduct inquiries and investigations into alleged violations of the ethical rules for state judicial officers contained in Article 5, Section 25 of the Constitution or the Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct to determine whether to recommend to the Supreme Court that a judicial officer be publicly disciplined.
The Commission consists of nine members who shall serve four-year terms: one court of appeal judge and two district judges selected by the Supreme Court; two attorneys admitted to the practice of law for at least ten years and one attorney admitted to the practice of law for at least three but not more than ten years, selected by the Conference of Court of Appeal judges; and three citizens, not lawyers, judges or public officials, selected by the Louisiana District Judges Association.
Suzanne retired as Court Administrator for the 26th Judicial District Court of Bossier and Webster Parishes, where she had been employed for 33 years. She currently works as a consultant for the National Center for State Courts, where she is working with the U.S. Embassy and the courts in Nassau, Bahamas.
Suzanne graduated magna cum laude from Louisiana Tech University and has a Master of Business Administration degree and a Master of Arts degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology from Louisiana Tech University. She is a Fellow of the Institute for Court Management and received her Certificate of Judicial Administration from Michigan State University. She served in the Louisiana Army National Guard from 1979 to 1982.
She is past president of the Louisiana Court Administrators Association and Past President of the National Association for Court Management. She served on the board of directors for the National Center for State Courts and board of directors for the International Association for Court Management. She was appointed by Chief Justice Catherine Kimball to serve on the Judicial Compensation Commission and reappointed by Chief Justice Bernette Johnson. She is a member of the NCSC International Advisory Committee and on the editorial board for the Future Trends in State Courts published annually by NCSC.
Suzanne was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court to serve on the State Court Rules Committee, Advisory Committee to the Performance Audit on Jury Practices, Disaster Recovery Planning Committee and the Louisiana Integrated Juvenile Justice Information System Committee. She served as chair of the Asbury Church Council for two years, and she is past president of the Commission for Women of Bossier City, past president of the Benton Rotary Club and past president of the Shreveport Bossier Bar Association Auxiliary.
