Donald Johnson
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2026
Donald Johnson is a judge for Section 1, Division B of the Louisiana 19th Judicial District Court. His current term ends on December 31, 2026.
Johnson (Democratic Party) ran for election for the 2nd District judge of the Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal. He lost in the general election on December 10, 2022.
Education
Johnson received his J.D. from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Herbert School of Law in 1982 and his master of judicial studies degree from the University of Nevada at Reno in December of 2009. He also received a master of criminal justice degree from Loyola University of New Orleans in December of 2006.[1]
Career
Johnson began his career as an assistant district attorney in East Baton Rouge. He then opened Law Offices of Donald R. Johnson & Associates, where he practiced until he was elected judge of the Baton Rouge City Court in 1993. He was elected to the district court in 1999.[2][1]
Elections
2022
See also: Louisiana intermediate appellate court elections, 2022
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
General election
General election for Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District
Hunter Greene defeated Donald Johnson in the general election for Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District on December 10, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Hunter Greene (R) | 54.4 | 30,269 |
| Donald Johnson (D) | 45.6 | 25,376 | ||
| Total votes: 55,645 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District
Donald Johnson and Hunter Greene defeated Beau Higginbotham in the primary for Louisiana 1st Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Donald Johnson (D) | 42.7 | 51,129 | |
| ✔ | | Hunter Greene (R) | 33.3 | 39,936 |
 | Beau Higginbotham (R) | 24.0 | 28,753 | |
| Total votes: 119,818 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
2020
See also: City elections in Baton Rouge, Louisiana (2020)
Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
Nonpartisan primary election
The primary election was canceled. Donald Johnson (D) won the election without appearing on the ballot.
2014
See also: Louisiana judicial elections, 2014
Johnson ran for re-election to the 19th Judicial District.
As an unopposed candidate, he was automatically re-elected without appearing on the ballot.
[3]
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Donald Johnson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Donald Johnson did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy cases
Johnson presided over former Agricultural Commissioner Bob Odom's conspiracy and money laundering case. Johnson dismissed the case, citing the time for prosecution had elapsed. The Louisiana Supreme Court overruled him and sent the case back to trial.[4]
Disciplinary action
The Louisiana Judiciary Commission recommended Judge Don Johnson be censured for improperly ordering people convicted of crimes, mostly drug offenses, to pay fines to three dozen private organizations, including the Southern University baseball team, two high school band departments, Baton Rouge Zoo. The commission also recommended that the Louisiana Supreme Court publicly censure Johnson for allowing his now-former judicial assistant to work for a federal agency while still employed by the judge. The panel contends Johnson violated the Code of Judicial Conduct in both instances.[5]
DWI citation
- In March 2001, Johnson was arrested for first-offense DWI, but a Baton Rouge City Court judge acquitted him later that year.
- In May 2003, Johnson was cited for misdemeanor counts of hit-and-run, failure to maintain control of a motor vehicle and driving without proof of insurance. His court date was scheduled for July 1. A witness at the scene indicated Johnson smelled strongly of beer, but Johnson did not take a breath test to prove or disprove this claim.[6]
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 19th Judicial District Court, "Judge Donald R. Johnson biography," accessed December 18, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedopinion - ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "November 4, 2014 General Election Candidates," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ Better Government Association, "Slaughter the pigs at the trough," March 13, 2007
- ↑ The Advocate, "Panel says fines improper," October 8, 2008
- ↑ Rip-off Report, "Baton Rouge Drug Court Judge Donald Johnson Police say judge fled after late-night crash Baton Rouge Louisiana," May 11, 2003
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Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana
State courts:
Louisiana Supreme Court • Louisiana Courts of Appeal • Louisiana District Courts • Louisiana City Courts • Louisiana Family Courts • Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts • Louisiana Juvenile Courts • Louisiana Mayor’s Courts • Louisiana Municipal Courts • Louisiana Parish Courts • Louisiana Traffic Courts
State resources:
Courts in Louisiana • Louisiana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Louisiana
