Chief judge urges Louisiana leaders to call special session to redistrict judicial districts

BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) — A chief judge calls on Gov. Jeff Landry and top legislative leaders to redistrict judicial districts in East Baton Rouge Parish and other jurisdictions in a special session.

Nineteenth Judicial District Court Chief Judge Donald R. Johnson urged fairness and consistency in the state’s judicial election systems in a June 5 letter. Johnson called for the redistricting of District 2 of the First Circuit Court of Appeal, the Family Court of East Baton Rouge Parish, and District 1 of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal.

“The issue is clear,” Johnson wrote. “In racially polarized judicial subdistricts where electoral outcomes consistently favor a white minority over a plurality of Black residents in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana has a constitutional obligation to act with fairness, transparency, and consistency.”

Johnson’s letter noted that Black residents are the largest demographic, citing House Legislative Services data that shows that 46.718% of residents are Black and 42.924% are white in the parish’s total population.

“In summary, we have all sworn to uphold the Louisiana Constitution,” Johnson wrote. “Judicial oaths require judges to protect and maintain equality of rights, which includes ethical objection to any statute that likely imposes discriminatory redistricting.”

Johnson references House Bill 124, a bill that would restructure the 19th Judicial District Court. It would change the number of election sections from three to two and increase the number of judges elected from five to seven, and one at-large. The bill passed through the regular legislative session and now awaits Landry’s signature.

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