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The question of whether Louisiana’s method of selecting judges in Terrebonne Parish violates the U.S. Voting Right Act – and if so what can be done to cure the problem, thus rendering moot an expensive and complicated pending trial – was under intense discussion this week as a delegation of Terrebonne officials prepared for a meeting with staffers of Gov. John Bel Edwards and Attorney General Jeff Landry in Baton Rouge.
The historic meeting – originally scheduled for last Tuesday – is now to be held Monday in Baton Rouge.
Parish President Gordon Dove, long accused of obstructive rhetoric and behavior that blocked change at the legislative level, says he supports the discussions and that, under certain conditions, he is willing to accept the setting aside of one Terrebonne Parish District court division as a minority sub-district, likely to follow the already-established lines of Parish Council districts 1 and 2. Those council districts are represented by two black members, Arlanda Williams and John Navy. They, along with Terrebonne Parish School Board members Greg Harding and Roosevelt Thomas, who represent that body’s two minority districts, are the authorized emissaries.
“I will accept a minority district if the parish is on board,” Dove said. “The people of the parish will have to give their approval.”
At issue is a suit brought by the Terrebonne Parish NAACP and some of its members against the state, in the person of its governor and its attorney general, alleging that the at-large method of electing all five of Terrebonne’s judges, parish-wide, violates the Voting Rights Act. Although the parish itself has not been sued – and has no power to change its judicial election scheme – Dove has sued on behalf of the parish to have it brought in as an intervening defendant, without prior approval by the Parish Council. Monday night a secret session was held, to allow parish attorney Julius Hebert to discuss the matter with members, out of public earshot. Attorneys consulted by The Times have indicated that the secret session did not likely conflict with open meetings laws, because it involves pending litigation.
COMPLEX SOLUTIONS
The crafting of a settlement in the case – if it can be done – would be a multi-tiered, multi-faceted solution that would likely require seals of approval from the Parish Council, local business groups and the Parish President himself, as well as the legislative and executive branches of state government. It would also have to be acceptable to the plaintiffs – the Terrebonne Parish NAACP and certain of its members. It would also require approval by U.S. District Judge J. James Brady and the U.S. Department of Justice.
But Dove’s willingness to discuss and help engineer a solution is generally seen by participants in the debate as a positive first step by parties on all sides of the dispute, which has been on Brady’s docket since 2014 and is scheduled for trial next year.
A key provision that would have to be part of the package if Dove’s blessing is to be given would be an understanding, built into a statute, that whoever runs for the sub-district bench would not be bound by district residency requirements. One of the parish’s five divisions of court could be the subject of any compromise reached. Division C, presided over by Judge Juan Pickett, offers one potential. Two judges, Johnny Walker in Division B and George Larke in Division A, will likely not be running for re-election, if current judicial age restrictions stand.
That means divisions A and B would be open for fresh election of new judicial blood. Although a change in the election process would not require approval by the local judges, their support would likely be needed in order for Dove or the Parish Council to come on board with a settlement. Informal conversations between The Times and local judges provide an indication that their support could be withheld if the bench occupied by Pickett – who is black – is threatened.
The object of changes ostensibly made to comport with Title 2 of the U.S. Voting Rights Act is not to ensure that a minority person is elected as a judge, but to eliminate alleged dilution of a minority bloc vote, which generally occurs in at large elections.
VOICES MUST BE HEARD
Dove has borne the lion’s share of criticism from NAACP President Jerome Boykin because as a state legislator he had vocally opposed a 2011 bill placed on the table in Baton Rouge that would have created a minority sub-district, along with former legislator Joe Harrison. With a split local delegation, legislators were not comfortable approving the bill and it went down in flames on the House of Representatives floor.
The lawsuit was filed three years later, with the powerful, resource-heavy New York-based NAACP Legal Defense Fund leading the legal charge. Attorneys for former Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Attorney General Buddy Caldwell argued that they were not the appropriate parties to be sued, but Judge Brady ruled against them.
Dove made clear in his most recent interview that community voices whose opinions will guide him toward or away from settlement support would include business groups like the South Central Industrial Association, the judges and other entities.
Boykin, who is aware of the behind-the-scenes talks, said he sees the development as progress.
“My decision will come after I discuss it with our attorneys and sit down with the other plaintiffs and get their input,” Boykin said.
BALKANIZATION
Leah Aden, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, noted that in the litigation papers already filed there is a proposal for five separate judicial election districts, one of which includes black residents as the majority of voters “to allow them to have the opportunity, like the majority of white voters in Terrebonne, to elect their preferred candidates to the 32nd JDC.”
“Under our proposal, candidates who run for each of the five districts would be required to be a resident within that district. While this plan is a permissible remedy, it is not the only possible remedy,” Aden said. “Plaintiffs are willing to and would consider other remedies that afford them their right to an opportunity to elect their candidates of choice to the 32nd JDC. Plaintiffs would scrutinize each proposal to ensure that it complies with the applicable law, including the Voting Rights Act and U.S. Constitution. Without seeing a full plan … we cannot comment at this time on whether it’s acceptable to us or not.”
The dividing of the court system into five separate districts was a source of considerable rancor for Dove, whose federal court filing last month referred to that solution as “balkanization.”
“The judge will make the final decision,” Dove said.
John Navy said he is hopeful that some type of amicable solution can emerge from the efforts he, Williams and the other officials are putting forward.
“I support the concept of a minority judicial district,” Navy said. “I don’t support five sub-districts. I believe Mr. Boykin’s intention was to originally create a single district and I am confident he will be even closer to achieving that goal. But it will take a coordinated effort by everyone to make sure this happens. I support the voters of district one and two creating a map.”
Navy said he is not concerned about the question of which judge’s bench will be made part of any deal that emerges. Principles, he said, need to win out over personalities in such a grave matter.
“People need to get away from the question of who the individual is that can run for a seat,” Navy said. “The most important thing is to create the seat. The seat is going to outlive you, me and everybody else.” •
