BATON ROUGE — A state appeals court Thursday reinstated the conviction of a Baton Rouge police officer accused of grabbing a motorist's breasts, saying Judge Eboni Johnson Rose had no right to toss out his conviction after initially finding him guilty.Rose no longer serves on the bench after the state Supreme Court suspended her. In the case before the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal, Rose reversed her decision convicting Donald Steele him of malfeasance. Prosecutors appealed, saying only an appellate court could grant a reversal.Steele was accused of groping a woman he had pulled over near LSU. Prosecutors say he ordered the woman to follow him to a warehouse off Chippewa Street.Rose had initially convicted Steele of misdemeanor malfeasance, a crime that doesn't exist.Steele's lawyer says he will appeal to the state Supreme Court.Permalink| Comments