BATON ROUGE — A state appeals court on Thursday unanimously rejected a request by East Baton Rouge prosecutors to change judges before the sentencing of a former Baton Rouge police officer on a malfeasance charge.

The district attorney doesn't want 19th Judicial District Chief Judge Don Johnson to handle the case because proceedings had formerly been handled by his niece, Judge Eboni Johnson Rose. Errors that Rose made in the case helped lead to her temporary suspension from the bench last year.

A third judge, Carson Marcantel, ruled last week that Johnson could handle the case fairly. The East Baton Rouge prosecutors had said Johnson couldn't because of the familial relationship with Rose.

The prosecutors on Tuesday asked the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal this week to overrule Marcantel, but was rejected quickly. The prosecutors still can take the matter to the state Supreme Court.

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 Appeals and the State Supreme Court each said Steele was guilty of felony malfeasance.

The state had argued in court not only about the family ties between the two judges, but noted Steele's attorney initially sought a recusal.

Steele's sentencing had been set for Monday, but delays are possible if the fight over which judge handles the case continues.