Judge Ernestine “Teena” Anderson Trahan should do us all a favor and just resign already.  The feds indicted her on income tax evasion.   The state Supreme Court suspended her with pay.  And we are all innocent until proven guilty. But her statements reacting to the indictment are laughable and despicable.  The citizens of Algiers can no longer trust Anderson Trahan to dispense justice.  She is nothing more than a corrupted judge.  Our state has a bunch.  She is one of the worst.

Did Anderson-Trahan exploit our citizens for her financial gain?

Anderson-Trahan is accused of breaking local laws and federal laws.  As judge of small claims, she was legally allowed to charge $5 to perform marriage ceremonies. Instead, she charged $100.  And on Valentine’s Day she would charge over $200.  Usually, the people who get married by a judge want to save money.  Or they may not be able to afford a huge wedding but want to legalize their union.  So what did Anderson-Trahan do?  She overcharged and exploited some of our most vulnerable couples. And of course, she required people pay cash.   Shame on you lady. 

But the unmitigated gall of Anderson-Trahan doesn’t stop there.  About that cash she forced people to pay.  She did not claim the money on her taxes.   And she performed hundreds of weddings.  She put the money in her pocket.  Bought things.  She drives a really nice vehicle.  But did she pay for it with her ill-gotten gains? Did she pay cash for her vehicle?  Well however she paid for it, the Justice Department claims she did not report the money she swiped from our people on her taxes.

Unbelievable Defense

She felt entitled to the cash.  From overcharging our people to not reporting her ill-gotten cash on her taxes Anderson-Trahan is a bad actor.  But she probably sees herself as above the law. How else can you explain her attorney’s comments?  Anderson-Trahan will be “vindicated.”   Okay  everybody says that when they get indicted.  But Anderson-Trahan’s next claim is so unbelievable that it’s infuriating.  According to her attorney, “Judge Trahan is not guilty of these charges. The law requires that one act willfully in order to violate the federal tax laws. In no way did the judge knowingly fail to meet her obligations.

Knock it off clowns.  Her defense is she didn’t know she had to claim the cash she pilfered on her taxes.  She just didn’t know she had to claim cash? Or is it that because she exploited poor New Orleanians out of their hard-earned cash she thought federal tax laws don’t apply to her?

Related: Sheriff Resigns Amid Charges of Corruption

Now she is happy to sit at home and collect a paycheck.  Resigning is the honorable thing to do. But it is too much to think a person with such utter disregard for the law would just do the right thing.  She probably thinks she deserves this money too. Just resign Judge Anderson-Trahan.