Ellington

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The state Supreme Court has rejected a call to remove a south Mississippi chancery judge, suspending and fining him instead.

The high court ruled 5-3 Thursday that the Mississippi Commission on Judicial Performance hadn't proved that Chancery Judge David Shoemake lied under oath, although justices did say Shoemake improperly signed orders that contributed to the mismanagement of an estate the court was overseeing. Another judge was removed for mismanagement in the same case.

The court suspended Shoemake 30 days without pay, and ordered him to pay a $2,500 fine and nearly $5,900 for investigation costs. Justices also ordered that Shoemake be publicly reprimanded in Simpson County Circuit Court.

Shoemake is one of two judges in a chancery district that includes Covington, Jefferson Davis, Lawrence, Simpson and Smith counties.