Why voting in the upcoming Judicial Elections is important
12th March 2018 · 0 Comments
By Ashley J. Heilprin
Guest Columnist
For voters in New Orleans, we have had a number of elections in the past year, but the party is over just yet, there’s still important upcoming elections. While much focus is often on larger elections, such as the presidential election, or the mayoral race, each and every election is an important opportunity for you to exercise your voice and impact our community. In particular, on March 24, 2018, voters in Orleans Parish will have the opportunity to vote in a special election to fill two important judicial vacancies.
• Clerk of Civil District Court Dale Atkins and Criminal Court Judge Robin Pittman are running for Judge, Court of Appeal 4th Circuit, Division F.
• Taetrece Harrison, First City Court Clerk Ellen Hazeur, and Richard Perque are running for Judge Civil District Court, Division A.
Here are three reasons you should vote in the upcoming judicial elections:
• The election of local judges is one of the most significant ways that we, as citizens, can impact the administration of justice. Simply put, our mayor cannot put people in jail, nor can our city council members determine who will inherit your property upon your death, nor can our senators determine whether you should be interdicted, nor can our governor order that your ex-spouse pay child support or alimony. But, our state court judges can make these and many other important decisions. Courts exist to protect people and their rights, to guarantee fairness and justice for everyone, regardless of means or access. Unequivocally, they play a vital role in ensuring that our rights are protected and upheld. In light of the magnitude of the decisions that judges make that impact the stability of our lives and our families’, it is imperative to know the candidates who are running for office, their backgrounds, their relevant experience that they will bring to the bench and their perspectives on the judiciary.
The person elected to Civil District Court, Division A, will begin his or her tenue on the domestic docket, handling cases involving custody, divorce, division of property, and support issues, among others. Issues such as whether or not you will be awarded custody of your children, or alimony in a divorce are decisions that impact families across New Orleans in a very real and personal way. Similarly, the new Fourth Circuit judge will also play a vital role on the administration of justice and ensuring that the rights of the most vulnerable are not overlooked. Our next judge elected to the Fourth Circuit will hear both criminal and civil matters, and review decisions made by the lower courts. Appellate judges review the decisions of the lower court and determine whether the law was properly applied to the facts established in the trial court. Appellate courts do not retry cases nor take new evidence. However, appellate judges play a vital role in acting as a safeguard and protector of the rights of all parties. For instance, if evidence or statements are improperly obtained by prosecutors against a criminal defendant, and the trial court denies the defendant’s motion to suppress that evidence, the appellate court then has an opportunity to reverse the trial court’s decision and exclude the illegally obtained evidence.
Voters play a critical role in participating in and choosing fair and impartial state court judges, and so we must vote based on character, relevant experience and integrity. We simply cannot afford the alternative.
Many special elections are decided by a margin. During special elections, voter turnout is often poor. Last year, in the March 25, 2017 special election to fill a vacancy on the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal and Civil District Court, overall voter turnout was 10.63 percent in Orleans Parish, with just 9.11 percent of black voters participating, as compared to 13.82 percent of white voters participating in the election. Less than 27,000 votes were cast in both races, of 257,157 eligible voters at the time. The margin of victory between the two candidates in the Fourth Circuit race, and the two candidates that made it to the run off in the Civil District Court race was just 2 percent, or 636 votes in the 4th Circuit race and 605 votes in the Civil District Court race. Unequivocally, every vote counts. The April 29, 2017 run-off special election to fill the Civil District Court vacancy, had slightly higher voter turnout, with 11.9 percent of voters in Orleans Parish making it to the polls, with 10.5 percent of black voters participating, and 15.1 percent of white voters participating. However, those statistics are still incredibly low in light of the import of the issues on the ballot.
In contrast, the October 14, 2017 election, involving the mayoral and city council races, along with two judicial races, yielded 32.22 percent voter turnout in Orleans Parish (31.06 percent of black voters and 35.88 percent of white voters) and the November 18, 2017 election involving the mayoral run-off race, as well as the run-off race for a vacancy at Civil District Court as well as two City Council seats yielded 33.3 percent voter turnout in Orleans Parish (33.26 percent of black voters and 35.31 percent of white voters).
Though not a local election, the Alabama’s special U.S. Senate election last December is yet another example of how special elections are decided by a margin. Democrat Doug Jones beat Republican Roy Moore with a mere 1.5 percent margin, in a shocking victory in a deep red state. Undeniably, high African-American voter turnout, and in particular black women voters, helped Rep. Jones defeat Moore. Black voters made up 29 percent of the vote in that election, a larger than typical share of the electorate. These statistics also dispel the myth that “your vote doesn’t matter.” If fact, in special elections in particular, where the voter turnout is abysmally low, every vote counts. Rather than letting someone else decide the outcome of these critical elections for you, do your homework on the candidates and exercise your right to vote!
• Many African Americans fought and gave their lives for us to have a voice – we might as well exercise it! Civil rights legend and Congressman John Lewis once said, “The right to vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in a democracy.” When I think about the intimidation and discrimination my grandparents’ generation faced in the 1950s in Alexandria, Louisiana even thinking about exercising their right to vote, I cannot imagine taking my right, and duty, to vote for granted. Voting is not only our right and obligation to our forebears, but it is our power to choose, to speak up, and to stand in support of those who support us. We cannot let the deaths and abuse suffered by those who came before us be in vain.
To find out more information on the judicial candidates, visit our website: www.gnomartinet.com/political-action/.
Finally, we invite you to join us for our Second Line to the Polls on March 17, beginning at 9:45 a.m. in Duncan Plaza! We encourage you to bring your families so that we can teach our children the importance and fun of voting!
Ashley J. Heilprin is President of the Greater New Orleans Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, Inc.
This article originally published in the March 12, 2018 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
