Hunter Greene was elected to the 1st Circuit Appeals Court | Courts

[ad_1]

Family Court Judge Hunter Greene was elected to a seat on the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal on Saturday.

Just over a month after finishing second in the primary, Greene, a Republican, defeated 19th Judicial District Court Judge Donald Johnson, a Democrat, who received the most votes in the primary, with 54.4% of the vote, according to complete but unofficial tallies. result.

The November primary featured another Republican candidate, 19th Judicial District Court Judge Beau Higginbotham. Political experts say Higginbotham and Greene have mixed support for each other from GOP voters in the primary.

Greene replaces Judge J. Michael McDonald, whose 20-year tenure on the court ends Dec. 31. McDonald is over 70 and is barred from seeking re-election by state law.

Greene, 56, spent 10 years in the Louisiana House, representing the 66th District before being elected to the bench in 2014 as a Family Court judge. He ran on a philosophy of being a strict follower of the Louisiana constitution when he joined the appeals court.

Johnson, 68, the longest-serving judge of the 19th Judicial District Court, campaigned on a platform of addressing the root causes of crime head-on, before people commit crimes and enter the system.

Greene is scheduled to be sworn into his new seat on Jan. 1.

The 1st Circuit covers 16 parishes in central Louisiana. Four of the court’s 12 judgeships are devoted to appellate casework in East Baton Rouge Parish.

[ad_2]