The Louisiana judicial elections were the last races to be decided in December 2014. Many judges ran unopposed. Of the incumbents who were challenged, five lost their seats. Candidates who received more than 50 percent of the votes in the November primary were elected without a runoff. Thirty-two candidates advanced to the December general election.
Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% 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.
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Judges compete in a primary election against candidates of all parties. If no candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote (a "majority vote"), the top two candidates run against each other in the general election. If a candidate does receive a majority vote in the primary, he or she is declared elected as an unopposed candidate and will not be listed on the general election ballot.[2]
In the event that candidates are competing for more than one open seat on a court, the majority vote is decided by "dividing the total votes cast for all of the candidates by the number of offices to be filled [and] dividing the result so obtained by two," according to the Secretary of State website. The SOS goes on to give the following example:
1040 total votes cast ÷ 3 offices to be filled ＝ 346.6
346.6 ÷ 2 ＝ 173.3
In the above example, 174 votes are necessary to win for each of the 3 offices.[2]
General election
A general election is won by obtaining the highest number of votes. In the case of races with two or more open seats, the two or more candidates with the highest votes are declared the winners. If there is a tie, an additional election will be scheduled for the third Saturday after the announcement of the election results.[2]
Becoming a candidate
Qualifications
To qualify for an election, a candidate must meet the individual requirements for the office he or she seeks.[3] To view these specific requirements—which pertain to law experience, length of residency and age—visit Judgepedia's Louisiana judicial selection page.
Declaration of candidacy
Candidates must submit a notice of candidacy form to the Louisiana Secretary of State's Office. On this form, the candidate indicates that he or she:
is a registered voter;
is not currently under an order of imprisonment for conviction of a felony;
has filed federal and state income tax returns each of the last five years, or filed an extension (or was not required to do so);
agrees to the state's campaign finance requirements;
does not owe any outstanding fines, fees or penalties pursuant to the Code of Governmental Ethics; and
is knowledgeable of governmental ethics offenses.[4]
Fees and nominating petitions
Candidates are required to either pay a fee (varying by judgeship, see the Louisiana judicial elections page) or file a nominating petition with a required number of signatures. An additional State Central Committee fee is collected from each Republican and Democratic candidate.[5]
Ballot measure
Mandatory retirement
Louisiana voters decided against eliminating the mandatory retirement age for judges in the state during the primary election. Louisiana judges must retire when the term during which they turn seventy expires. The Louisiana Mandatory Judicial Retirement Age Amendment sought to do away with that constitutional requirement.[6] The measure was supported in both chambers of the Louisiana legislature.[7]
In the November 2014 race for the seat on Louisiana’s 9th District Court, the outcome coincided with a constitutional amendment on removing the mandatory judicial retirement age.[9]
Incumbent Harry Randow, who reached the age limit of 70 in 2013, remained on the ballot because the amendment to lift the retirement age was pending at the time.[9] Randow said that judges should not retire based solely on age, noting that judicial experience benefits the system:
“
I think it benefits the judiciary for that to pass. The option of keeping experienced people on the court is valuable.[10]
His challenger, Charles Gravel, emphasized that without the amendment in effect, Randow would be ineligible to serve if re-elected:
“
The fact remains that…Judge Randow can't serve if elected. It has to be part of the campaign.[10]
”
Another candidate, Greg Beard, focused on local issues, stating a preference for concentrating on "who we are and what we can do for the people of Rapides Parish." [9]
Fourteen of the 15 judges in the 19th Judicial District were running for re-election in 2014. Judge Kay Bates, who retired at the end of her term, was the exception. There were five candidates running to fill her spot. As for the judges running for another term, eight incumbents were unopposed, and therefore automatically re-elected. Six of the current judges were challenged for their positions.
There were a total of eight candidates running against incumbents.
A legal challenge to qualifying petitions in the St. John the Baptist Parish court election disqualified one candidate but upheld another.[11] A special judge, appointed after two current judges recused themselves, conducted the hearing.[12]
Mona Joseph was disqualified over inconsistent information on her qualifying form. Incumbent Judge Mary Hotard Becnel was cleared of allegations related to notarization errors. Petitioners did not seek sanctions, but were ordered to pay court costs.[12]
Judge Frank A. Marullo, Jr., age 74, was initially ruled ineligible for re-election due to Louisiana’s age limit of 75. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, however, found that special provisions for long-serving judges appointed before the current constitution granted him eligibility.[13][14]
Petitioners included voters Marian Cunningham and Lisa and Robert Amoss, who disputed Marullo's eligibility. Lawyers representing the voters argued that Marullo, who was born on December 31, 1939, would be 75 before assuming office.[15] A ballot measure that would remove the mandatory retirement age for judges was also up for a constitutional amendment in 2014.[15]
One contested race for courts of appeal, all incumbents keep seats
Savoie has been a judge in the 14th Judicial District since 2001, and Yelverton at the time of the 2014 election was an assistant district attorney in Calcasieu Parish. Both candidates Republicans, ran in the primary election on November 4. Savoie's campaign website stated that he "will bring our conservative values to the Court of Appeal." Yelverton also emphasized his views:
“
As I have traveled throughout our parishes and listened to our people, the message that I hear loud and clear is that it is time for a conservative on the Third Circuit Court of Appeal. I will be that conservative.[17][10]
Judge Terri Love of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal did not have to run a campaign for re-election, because her opponent withdrew from the race. Douglas Hammel served as judge ad hoc for the Orleans Parish Traffic Court earlier in 2014. The paperwork he signed for that position barred him from running in a judicial election for a year. He served on that court for three days. After a New Orleans Advocate reporter informed him of the situation, he withdrew.[18] Love was first elected to the court of appeals in 2000, and re-elected in 2004. Due to Hammel's withdrawal, Love ran unopposed in 2014 and was automatically re-elected for another 10-year term, expiring in 2024.
Justices of the Peace get reprieve from law mandating retirement at age 70
A Louisiana court issued a temporary restraining order against the enforcement of a recently passed law requiring judges of the Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts to retire at the age of 70. The law, sponsored by Senator Elbert Guillory, passed quickly and took effect on August 1. The law would have affected a total of 200 judges in the entire state.[19]
Connie Moore, president of the Louisiana Justices of the Peace and Constables Association, said that the restraining order was a stop-gap and applied only to judges elected before August 15, 2006. She said that the Louisiana State Legislature would need to take up a more permanent solution to the law in its 2015 session.[19]
With the temporary restraining order in place, the judges who would have been affected by the law were able to file for re-election. Moore called those judges to give them the news that they were permitted to file to be on the November 4 ballot.[20] The judges must qualify, however, between August 27 and August 29.[21] To be eligible for a judgeship on the Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts, the candidate must have lived in the community for which the court has jurisdiction for at least two years and must have a law degree.[22]
Louisiana Judge George W. Giacobbe, 69, announced his re-election bid for another six-year term on the 1st Parish Court weeks ago. On Monday, August 11, 2014, his campaign managers sent notice to local news media outlets confirming that he would appear on the November 4 ballot.[23]
But on Tuesday August 12, the judge decided he would not run for re-electon after all.[23]
Giacobbe's would-be opponents, attorneys Monique Lafontaine and Stephen Petit, confirmed their candidacy for the position. Other potential candidates had until August 20 to file for candidacy. Giacobbe said he chose to announce his retirement when he did to give other potential candidates time to adapt their campaigns.[23]
Giacobbe was initially elected in 1988 to fill the vacancy left when Judge Jim Lockhart died in office. He won a special election and the subsequent runoff. His 26 years on the bench made him the second longest-serving judge in Jefferson Parish behind Ann Murry Keller, who joined the court one year before he did.[23]
In Giaccobe's absence, Rebecca M. Olivier was slated to take over as senior judge of the court.[23]
72-year-old Louisiana judge runs for re-election despite age restriction
District Judge Leo Boothe of Louisiana, 72, was prohibited by the state constitution from serving out another six-year term. Law requires that judges retire at 70 in Louisiana. A sitting judge may continue serving beyond his or her seventieth birthday, but that judge may not be elected again.[24]
On the November 2014 ballot was a constitutional amendment removing the mandatory retirement age for state judges. It was put forth by a resolution of the Louisiana Legislature and passed in the 2014 session. Voters were asked to check "Yes" or "No" regarding the removal of Article V Section 23B, which detailed the mandatory retirement policy.[24]
Boothe served his fourth term on the bench—and decided to run in 2014 in case the amendment passed.[24] The amendment ultimately did not pass.[24]
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