BATON ROUGE — East Baton Rouge Parish prosecutors don't want the uncle of 19th District Judge Eboni Johnson Rose to handle the sentencing for a former police officer she once convicted of a crime that doesn't exist. 

Judge Donald Johnson this month took over Rose's criminal docket after she returned from a monthslong suspension imposed by the Louisiana Supreme Court. After a number of errors on the bench, justices last summer removed her from the bench temporarily while a state panel reviewed her competency.

Former Baton Rouge Police officer Donald Steele had been accused of second-degree kidnapping and malfeasance. After a bench trial, Rose acquitted him of the kidnapping charge and said he was guilty of misdemeanor malfeasance, a crime that doesn't exist. 

At Steele's sentencing in April 2024, Rose vacated the guilty verdict and entered a plea of not guilty. The state appealed and the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal and the state Supreme Court each said Steele was guilty of felony malfeasance.

When Rose returned from her suspension in June 2025, she and her uncle switched dockets. She took over Johnson's civil docket.

"It is clear that all parties recognized that Judge Rose could not be an appropriate judge to handle sentencing in this matter," the district attorney's office wrote in a brief filed Friday. "... due to the close familial relationship between Judge Don Johnson and Judge Rose, and the profound impact that her handling of this matter had on Judge Rose's career, Judge Johnson should also be recused."

Assistant District Attorney Dana Cummings said the victim was aware of the situation and believes Johnson should step aside.

"The actions of Judge Rose in this case played a profound part of the public discipline that she received," Cummings wrote. "... (I)t is impossible for Judge Don Johnson, her uncle and mentor, to be fair and impartial."

In April 2024, Steele's lawyer had questioned whether Rose could find Steele guilty of malfeasance if she didn't find him guilty of any underlying charges, including an allegation that Steele had grabbed the breasts of a female motorist he had pulled over.

In her do-over, Rose said she made an error in her previous verdict and opted to find Steele not guilty of everything.

“The judge’s decision confirms what we always knew and fought for. Donald Steele is innocent. Reports to the contrary were premature and did not take into account the Court's determination that no sexual battery occurred," defense lawyer Franz Borghardt said in a statement at the time.

Johnson's law clerk said the judge would not comment on matters pending before the court.