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Janice Clark
Janice Clark was a judge for Section 1, Division D of the Louisiana 19th Judicial District Court. She assumed office in 1993. She left office on December 31, 2020.
Clark (Democratic Party) ran for re-election for the Section 1, Division D judge of the Louisiana 19th Judicial District Court. She did not appear on the ballot for the primary on November 3, 2020.
Elections
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
Nonpartisan primary for Louisiana 19th Judicial District Court Section 1 Division D
William Jorden won election outright against Dele Adebamiji in the primary for Louisiana 19th Judicial District Court Section 1 Division D on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | William Jorden (D) | 64.6 | 19,217 | |
| Dele Adebamiji (D) | 35.4 | 10,515 | ||
| Total votes: 29,732 | |||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Janice Clark (D)
2014
See also: Louisiana judicial elections, 2014
Clark ran for re-election to the 19th Judicial District.
As an unopposed candidate, she was automatically re-elected without appearing on the ballot.
[1]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Janice Clark did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Education
Clark graduated from Southern University Law Center in 1976.[2]
Career
Prior to joining the court, Clark ran a private law practice from 1979 until 1992. She also served as a staff attorney for the Louisiana Legislative Council and Bayou Lafourche Legal Services, in Donaldsonville, Louisiana. She was elected to the district court and began serving on the court in 1993. She was appointed chief judge in 1999.[2][3]
Noteworthy events
State supreme court finds Clark not guilty of judicial misconduct (2014)
In a unanimous opinion, the Louisiana Supreme Court rejected the recommendation of the state judiciary commission to publicly reprimand Judge Clark for alleged misconduct. The court found Clark committed no misconduct when she dismissed without prejudice a 2011 complaint filed by Marie Reed (see below). The dismissal without prejudice allowed the plaintiff in the case to refile her case in the future, if she chose to do so. The court's opinion regarding the matter, written by Associate Justice Jeannette Theriot Knoll, noted: "nothing with which the Commission charges Judge Clark warrants this Court's sanction for judicial misconduct".[4]
Clark expressed relief upon hearing of the supreme court's decision. She told The Advocate,
| “ | I intend to be a better judge as a result of this. I will try to avoid any appearance that this court is not being run appropriately.[5] | ” |
| —Judge Janice Clark[6] | ||
Clark charged with judicial misconduct (2013)
For the fourth time in twelve years, Clark was formally charged with misconduct by the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana. The most recent case was the first to be made public. According to the commission, Clark committed judicial misconduct when she dismissed a lawsuit in 2011.[7] The commission formally charged Clark on May 22, 2012. The charges stemmed from a complaint filed by Marie Reed. Reed was the plaintiff in a defamation case assigned to Clark's court. According to Reed, before her case was dismissed, Clark questioned her about her case when her attorney was not present. Clark dismissed Reed's case without attorneys from either side being present, in spite of the fact that she knew Reed was represented by an attorney.[7]
The commission held a hearing on the charges on April 12, 2013. Following the hearing, the commission filed a recommendation with the state supreme court. The recommendation noted that Clark
| “ | . . .has not taken responsibility for her actions. The only regret she has expressed. . .was regret over how the proceedings before the Commission have affected her. The Commission agrees with the hearing officer that Judge's Clark's lack of candor is troubling and she does not appear to comprehend the seriousness of her conduct.[8][5] | ” |
The office of special counsel recommended the commission request that the state supreme court suspend Clark without pay for six months. Clark and her attorneys opposed any public discipline. The commission instead recommended Clark be publicly censured and ordered to reimburse the commission $2,484.61 for costs spent on the misconduct investigation.[8]
With regard to Clark's prior misconduct matters, in 2002, the commission issued a letter of caution after she jailed someone for contempt without following the procedures required to find a person guilty of contempt. In 2003, the commission formally charged Clark for publicly endorsing a redistricting plan, violating campaign finance laws by making a personal loan to herself and not recusing herself from a case involving the Louisiana Board of Ethics. (At the time a case regarding the ethics board came before her, Clark was being investigated by the board and should have recused herself from the matter.) The third incident of misconduct took place in 2011. Clark did not disclose that a lawyer appearing in her court was actually serving as her lawyer on a personal legal matter.[8]
Clark never responded publicly regarding the allegations. However, her attorney, Bob Downing, indicated she had spent "an enormous amount of money" defending herself against the allegations.[7][9]
In an article in The Advocate, Downing also questioned why the commission included references to Clark's past misconduct issues, which the commission dealt with privately, in the order filed with the state supreme court.[7] Complaints against judges for judicial misconduct generally remain confidential. However, once the commission files a recommendation with the supreme court, any information in the recommendation becomes public.[10]
Board of ethics complaint (2002)
On February 14, 2002, the Louisiana Board of Ethics determined that Clark "violated the restrictions on the use of campaign funds in the CFDA when she used campaign funds for personal use. The Board acknowledges that the funds were repaid to the campaign, but a violation occurred when the funds were initially loaned and used for inappropriate expenses." Based on this determination, the board of ethics fined Clark $5,000.[3]
After an investigation, the Louisiana Board of Ethics determined Clark borrowed $32,000 from her own campaign funds and spent the money "to enhance her personal appearance and wardrobe."[3]
Noteworthy cases
Clark v. Edwards
Clark filed a lawsuit in 1986. The ensuing case, Clark v. Edwards, resulted in greater representation of African-Americans in the state's judicial system. It also called for the establishment of controversial subdistricts of the courts.[2]
Public records ruling
In March 2009, Clark ruled that the Louisiana Division of Administration's and the Louisiana Economic Development Department responded to a request for public records under the Louisiana Public Records Act in a way that amounted to "deliberate indifference and ineptitude ris[ing] to [the] level of arbitrary and capricious".[11] The state agencies indicated they would appeal the decision to the First Circuit Court of Appeal.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- The Times-Picayune, "Louisiana judge halts qualifying for state GOP committee candidates," November 10, 2011
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "November 4, 2014 General Election Candidates," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 News from the Southern University Law Center, April 8, 2005
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Louisiana Board of Ethics, "Re: Personal use of Campaign Funds by The Honorable Janice Clark, District Court Judge," February 14, 2002
- ↑ Supreme Court of Louisiana, "In Re: Judge Janice Clark, No. 2014-0-0188," May 7, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Advocate, "La. Supreme Court finds no judicial misconduct by Judge Clark," May 8, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 The Advocate, "Judge Janice Clark faces possible censure for 'judicial misconduct'," March 7, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Supreme Court of Louisiana, "No. 14-O-0099, In Re: Judge Janice G. Clark, Order," January 31, 2014
- ↑ National Association to Stop Guardian Abuse, "Louisiana Judge Janice Clark Faces Possible Censure for 'Judicial Misconduct'," accessed November 6, 2015
- ↑ Louisiana Supreme Court, "Rules of the Court, Rule XXIII, section 23," accessed November 6, 2015
- ↑ The FOI Advocate, "La. judge rules that two state offices violated public records law," April 1, 2009
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
