Former governor touts achievements of diversity in Louisiana

February 28, 2012

Louisiana: Last week, The National Bar Association's Louisiana Judicial Council held its annual conference. During the meeting, former Governor Edwin Edwards spoke of the changes in diversity in the state's judicial system.

He shared that:

• Louisiana has more minority judges than any other state;

• Louisiana has more African American appellate judges than California, New York, or Texas;

• In thirty years, the State of Louisiana has seen exponential growth in the number of African American judges serving. In 1992, there were six in the state, when today there are 78 African American judges.

Edwards also touted his accomplishments in taking legislative action to permit the change. He said, "That is very important because a third of our population is in the black community. I thought/think that they [black community] should have the right to vote on black lawyers who wanted to be judges. And I think they [black judges and attorneys] have served the legal community and the general population very well."