Longest-serving La. judge seeks another term on criminal court bench

By Christopher Tidmore
Contributing Writer

Frank Marullo has been on the Criminal Court bench so long that he is at the center of a debate over abolishing the judicial retirement age. Though, Marullo would be quick to add he was elected under the 1921 Constitution, and therefore, eligible to run regardless of the vote on Constitutional Amendment #5.

Still, that experience has given him a particular appreciation for the Bench upon which he has sat since shortly after Neil Armstrong walked on the Moon. “Criminal District Court is a historic place that has tried some of the biggest cases in the state. Historically, in Section ‘A’ of Criminal Court, Plessey v. Ferguson was tried and the case regarding the conspiracy to kill the President of the United States of America, John F Kennedy, was tried in this courthouse. It is a historic building, a duplicate of the Court of Consecieone in Paris.”

“The building is a city, state, and national treasure. It urgently needs facility and technology improvements that have been hampered by state and city budgetary limitations. As the leading advocate for the court, I am fighting for another term to try to convince legislators that we can no longer kick the can down the road.”

In fact, he sees “lack of funds to pay court employees and funding reductions in the clerk’s office funding that curtail court operations” as the biggest problem at Criminal Court right now.

Marullo tried to fix it, as a champion of the merger of the Courts, but ultimately, he was the one who asked the legislature to reverse their post-Katrina reform. As the veteran judge told The Louisiana Weekly, “I’ll take responsibility for leading the merger, because in the long run it would cost citizens, the city, and the state less. The bill passed in the legislature to merge the courts but financially speaking they needed several millions of dollars to start the merger. When it became apparent that the city wouldn’t pay, it had to be disassembled. However, merging the courts is the right thing to do financially.”

The Criminal Court Judge has always been something of a critic of how the judicial process operates in Orleans—and throughout Louisiana. “There are some people we must put in jail for public safety. However, a large portion could be handled another way, which is why probation particularly intensive probation, drug testing, and drug court are important programs. I was the first in our Court, perhaps in the state, to institute drug court and a drug screening program, intensive probation programs, domestic violence referrals and tracking programs, and a victims restitution program that has collected hundreds of thousands of dollars for victims of crime.”

This Septuagena­rian seeks a final term against a crowded field seeking to replace him because of that experience of four decades in office. “My experience off the bench and before I became an attorney are the things that brought me to the bench. I’ve had many jobs such as a longshoreman, a seaman, a teacher, these things helped me connect with people and shape where I was going, and my time in the Legislature molded me to becoming a Criminal Judge­ship.”

“I’m the only candidate in this race with experience as a lawyer, lawmaker (State Representative) and District Court Judge. I have led the judiciary as President of the District Court Judges Association, served the Court as its Chief Judge, and served our community as President of Total Community Action. These experiences have prepared me to make the tough decisions that are part of the daily docket at Criminal District Court.”

This article originally published in the October 27, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.