Tuesday, June 7
June 7, 2011
Economic life of LA1 businesses in limbo
June 9, 2011
A bill designating one of Terrebonne Parish’s five 32nd Judicial District Court seats a minority district faces its biggest hurdle yet this week in the Louisiana House of Representatives.
House Bill 582, sponsored by state Rep. Damon Baldone (D-Houma) would convert one seat, likely the Division C judgeship, into a minority-held post, and make three of the remaining seats at-large positions. The fourth judgeship would be designated a non-minority district.
Terrebonne Parish voters currently cast votes for all five at-large judge seats.
H.B. 582, if approved by members of the House, will move to the Senate for consideration. Even if both bodies approve the measure, it still must receive the U.S. Justice Department’s OK before it can become law.
Baldone said he co-sponsored the bill to ensure a minority is elected to Terrebonne’s minority council district, which includes residents in the original city limits of Houma and Mechanicville.
The representative said the seat could be held by any minority: a black, female or anyone from another ethnic background other than Caucasian.
“It does not guarantee that
An election for a minority judge would occur when one of the five seated judges either retires or becomes incapable of working in that role. No one currently serving would lose his seat.
Jerome Boykin, president of Terrebonne Parish National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said Terrebonne’s Division C judgeship becomes available in 2014, making it the ideal seat to designate as a minority post if the bill is approved.
District Judge Timothy C. Ellender currently holds the seat. He is expected to retire in two years in accordance with a state age requirement. Judges are not allowed to serve after age 70.
Boykin and members of the Louisiana Black Caucus spent much of Monday in Baton Rouge stomping for support of the bill.
“We’re at an historical moment in time here,” Boykin said. “This will change the face of Terrebonne Parish once again, while giving our children hope to dream and actually believe they can become anything they want to be.”
The NAACP leader said it has long been his hope to see a minority judgeship in Terrebonne. “If not now, when?” he asked. “When will a bill like this pass?”
H.B. 582 comes on the heels of resolutions offered by the Terrebonne Parish Council and school board. Both bodies approved resolutions calling for diversity in parish government. Neither measure specified a minority judgeship, however.
H.B. 582 has been met with mixed support locally.
State Rep. Gordon Dove (R-Houma) said he opposes the measure and intends to vote against it.
“There are too many issues with this bill, and they have not been heard,” he explained. “I’d be interested in giving a fair hearing to both sides of the issue. As it stands now, I cannot and will not vote for this bill as it is presently written.”
Also in contention is the assignment of the bill. Baton Rouge Democrat state Rep. Dalton Honore authored the measure, and initially pitched it to a House and Governmental Affairs Committee last Wednesday. He was joined by Baldone.
After using his final non-fiscal bill to proffer a measure to keep Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes united, Baldone asked the Baton Rouge lawmaker to author the bill on his behalf.
Regardless of how the bill reached the House, Dove accuses Baldone of employing crafty politics to create it.
Dove said H.B. 582 belongs before the Judiciary Committee because it pertains to the courts. By altering the proposal to include precincts, Dove said Baldone basically confused anyone not familiar with the issue.
On Thursday, Dove offered a substitute motion redirecting the bill to the House Judiciary Committee for further discussion. The measure failed.
Dove blasted the committee’s chairwoman, state Rep. Rosalind Jones (D-Monroe), after the vote saying she “was part of a coup” with Baldone to ensure the bill was not moved to her committee. “She is very smart, but she crossed the line here,” Dove said.
“I am a lawyer. Reapportionment, precincts, voting requirements. … I do this stuff every day. This is my specialty. It’s how I make a living,” Jones responded when asked about Dove’s comment. “Just as I would go to Mr. Dove for a question on oil and gas or oysters, I would hope he would respect me and offer me the same courtesy on the issues involved in this bill.
“House Bill 582 does not belong in the Judiciary Committee,” she continued. “It does not create a new judgeship. It does not require additional monies. No one is losing their job. It’s perfectly clear.”
Dove said the fight against the measure is not over. If the bill is approved by the state House and Senate, he contends it will not likely be approved by the U.S. Department of Justice.
“If this bill passes, it will test constitutional grounds,” he said.
Terrebonne Parish’s third House member, state Rep. Joe Harrison (R-Gray), is counted among those in favor of the bill, according to Boykin. However, Harrison has not commented publicly on the issue. Repeated telephone calls and emails to the lawmaker went unreturned as of press time.
“[Harrison] has told me repeatedly that he will vote for the minority district when it comes up for final vote in the House,” Boykin said.
On March 17, the Associated Press reported that Harrison faxed the state Supreme Court last fall asking that the creation of a new minority judgeship be created in the 32nd Judicial District Court. According to the Associated Press, Harrison was seeking to create a sixth judge seat in Terrebonne Parish.
The Supreme Court agreed to Harrison’s request for a review of the matter. In mid-spring, the Court said there was not enough evidence to support the request.
Harrison did not vote during last week’s House Affairs Committee meeting. Nor did he vote on Dove’s motion to send H.B. 582 to the Judiciary Committee, where Harrison is a sitting member.
The five sitting judges of the 32nd Judicial District Court issued a letter Sunday opposing H.B. 582.
District Judges George Larke (Division A), Chief Judge John R. Walker (Division B), Timothy C. Ellender (Division C), David W. Arceneaux (Division D) and Randall L. Bethancourt, (Division E) signed the letter.
“To be clear, there has not been an adequate opportunity for public comment or analysis, particularly by the local bar association,” the five judges wrote. “There are a number of genuine and significant legal issues presented by this legislation that have not been addressed.
“In addition, the hasty adoption of this legislation would be contrary to the Legislature’s own directive, which calls for the prior review of judicial district changes by the Judicial Council of the Louisiana Supreme Court.”
Meanwhile, Baldone stands behind the bill as it is currently written. H.B. 582 has received bipartisan support before each committee that it has faced, he said.
Addressing the State House Governmental & Affairs Committee are (from left) Terrebonne National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Youth President Wendell Shelby, state Rep. Dalton Honore (D-East Baton Rouge) and state Rep. Damon Baldone (D-Houma). HOWARD J. CASTAY JR.
