Frank A. Marullo Jr.
Frank A. Marullo Jr. was a judge for the Orleans Parish Criminal Court, Section D, in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. He joined the court in 1974.[1][2] After a long fight to remain on the bench past the mandatory retirement age, Marullo decided to retire at the end of 2015. His last day was December 31, 2015.[3]
Education
Marullo received a B.S. from the University of Southern Mississippi and a J.D. from the Loyola University Law School in New Orleans.[4]
Career
Marullo served briefly on the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1972 to 1974.[5]
Marullo also served as a member of the Louisiana Judicial Budgetary Control Board. His term began on January 5, 2009, and ended on January 4, 2012.[6]
Elections
2014
See also: Louisiana judicial elections, 2014
Marullo ran for re-election to the Orleans Parish Criminal Court.
Primary: He was elected in the primary on November 4, 2014, receiving 51.3 percent of the vote. He competed against Graham Bosworth and Marie Williams.
[7][8]
Noteworthy events
Marullo accused of breaking election laws
Marullo's opponent, Marie Williams, claimed that Marullo tried to convince her to drop out of the race by offering to help get her a job as a magistrate commissioner on the court.
Williams recorded phone conversations between herself and Sonja DeDais, who claimed to represent Marullo's campaign. In the conversation, DeDais told Williams that she would become a commissioner. Williams and Marullo then met at a restaurant, where she also recorded that conversation. In the audio, reported by WDSU News, Marullo stated, "I can't guarantee it because it takes a majority vote of the court, but I'm telling you, I will vote for you. You need seven people. I could say to six other people, 'please do this.' That's what I could do." Marullo denied that he offered Williams anything and said that DeDais was not connected to his campaign.[9]
On September 24, 2014, FBI spokesperson Mary Beth Romig confirmed that the FBI decided to review the audio tapes. NOLA.com reported that they interviewed several attorneys about the matter who were not sure what federal law offenses the FBI had investigated, although it did appear that state election laws were violated.[10]
Judicial expenses under scrutiny
In October 2014, a number of New Orleans criminal district judges came under scrutiny from local watchdog groups for expenses they incurred while in office. In total, the judges spent $75,000 over a course of 18 months in travel and legal education expenses. Judges Frank Marullo and Arthur L. Hunter, Jr. incurred the greatest amount. Hunter billed the court $15,347 from a total of 10 trips, which included travel to resorts in Florida and conferences in Denver and San Antonio. Marullo spent $11,074 for a conference he attended at a resort in Panama.[11]
Though the amount of billable expenses was criticized, judges in Louisiana were permitted an annual $15,000 travel allowance related to conferences, seminars, and conventions undertaken in furtherance of legal education.[12]
A detailed list of the expenses can be found here.
Marullo ordered to step down
On February 20, 2015, the Louisiana Supreme Court ordered Marullo to temporarily step down from the bench while an investigation takes place to determine if Marullo is in violation of the mandatory retirement age of 70.[13]
Marullo successfully ran for re-election to the Orleans Parish Criminal Court in 2014, however, a lawsuit filed against Marullo challenged his eligibility to run in the first place in light of the fact that he was 74 years old at the time of the election. Marullo argued that at the time of his appointment to the Orleans Parish Criminal Court in 1974, the 1921 version of the Louisiana Constitution was in effect, which set an age limit of 75 years for judges. A few months after his appointment, the 1974 version of the constitution came into effect which changed the age limit to 70 years, but allowed judges who turned 70 while in office to remain until the end of their terms. The courts held in favor of Marullo, allowing him to run in the 2014 election.[13]
The state judiciary commission filed the complaint with its recommendation that Marullo be immediately disqualified. The commission stated that though Marullo had been sworn into office on December 19, 2014, he assumed the bench on January 1, 2015, which was the day after his 75th birthday. Decisions to remove judges from the bench lie solely with the Louisiana Supreme Court, usually following recommendations made by the state judiciary commission.[13]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Frank Marullo Louisiana judge. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- Orleans Parish Criminal District Court
- Committee to Re-Elect Judge Frank Marullo, Jr.
- Project NOLA, "Lee Zurik Investigation: Judge raises nepotism questions," May 25, 2010
- NOLA.com, "New Orleans public paid $75,000 for judges' trips to beach resorts, mountain lodge, more," October 8, 2014
Footnotes
- ↑ Orleans Parish, "Criminal District Court," accessed November 7, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Elected Officials," accessed November 7, 2014 (Select "By Parish" and "ORLEANS")
- ↑ The Advocate, "Frank Marullo, Louisiana’s longest-serving judge, to step down after long fight over his eligibility to serve," December 4, 2015
- ↑ Committee to Re-Elect Judge Frank Marullo, Jr., "Bio," archived September 18, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Legislature, "Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives 1812- 012" (Scroll to p.117) (dead link)
- ↑ Louisiana Supreme Court, "Press Release," February 5, 2009
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "November 4, 2014 General Election Candidates," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "2014 primary results," accessed November 7, 2014
- ↑ NOLA.com, "Frank Marullo's opponent says she was offered job to drop out of race, TV station reports," September 23, 2014
- ↑ NOLA.com, "FBI reviewing tapes of Frank Marullo and Marie Williams," September 24, 2014
- ↑ NOLA.com, "New Orleans public paid $75,000 for judges' trips to beach resorts, mountain lodge, more," October 8, 2014
- ↑ Criminal District Court, Parish of New Orleans, "Letter to NOLA.com/Times Picayune," September 9, 2014
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 NOLA.com, "Judge Frank Marullo temporarily ordered off bench by Louisiana Supreme Court pending investigation," February 20, 2015
| |||||||
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
