NAACP Legal Defense Fund Heads to Court in Louisiana Voting Rights Case

“Today LDF lawyers go to court in Louisiana to represent Black voters in Terrebonne Parish, who have been denied the equal opportunity to elect their preferred candidates to the 32nd JDC, a Louisiana state court that has jurisdiction over Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana,” said Leah Aden, LDF Senior Counsel. “We will argue that Louisiana must open the political process and provide avenues for equal voting and participation for all of its citizens.”

“We are seeking to change the system in order to give Black voters the opportunity to elect the preferred candidate for their community. For far too long, they have been denied this undeniable right,” said Victorien Wu, LDF Assistant Counsel.

Read opening testimony here.

Over 50 members of the Terrebonne Parish community packed the courtroom in Baton Rouge, La.

Members of the Terrebonne Parish legal team including Ron Wilson, Michael de Leeuw, Alexander Selarnick, and Will Lesser of Cozen O’Connor, LDF Attorneys Leah Aden and Victorien Wu as well as two clients, Mr. Jerome Boykin and Mr. Daniel Turner, and one of our experts, Bill Cooper.

Wendell Desmond Shelby Jr., Diana Collins, Coty Montag, Jerome Boykin, Leah Aden, Ronald Wilson, William Lesser, Victorien Wu

Cedric Floyd, Ronald Wilson, William Lesser, Ronald Williams, Alexander Selarnick, Wendell Desmond Shelby, Jr., Bill Cooper, Michael de Leeuw, Leah Aden, Jerome Boykin, William Choy, Victorien Wu

Cedric Floyd, Ronald Wilson, William Lesser, Ronald Williams, Alexander Selarnick, Wendell Desmond Shelby, Jr., Bill Cooper, Michael de Leeuw, Leah Aden, Jerome Boykin, William Choy, Victorien Wu

Recent Press:

• John DeSantis, The letter of the law, The Times (Mar. 28, 2017)
• Laura Halleman, Minority judgeship lawsuit now in court, Louisiana Record (Mar. 26, 2017)
• Dan Copp, Racism recalled in minority judgeship trial, The Daily Comet (Mar. 25, 2017)
• Dan Copp, Testimonies continue in minority judgeship lawsuit, The Daily Comet (Mar. 20, 2017)
• Dan Copp, Judges testify in minority judgeship case, The Daily Comet (Mar. 17, 2017)
• Dan Copp, Witness challenges at-large voting in Terrebonne minority judgeship case, The Daily Comet (Mar. 16, 2017)
• John DeSantis, Caitie Burkes, Judge rejects parish’s help in NAACP trial, The Times (Mar. 15, 2017)
• Dan Copp, Plaintiff testimony continues in minority judgeship lawsuit, The Daily Comet (Mar. 14, 2017)
• Dan Copp, Opening testimony begins in minority judgeship lawsuit, The Daily Comet (Mar. 13, 2017)
• Dan Copp,  Court to Hear Minority Judgeship Lawsuit, The Daily Comet (Mar. 11, 2017)
• Marc Morial, Breaking down barriers for black Terrebonne Parish voters, The Times Picayune (Mar. 7, 2017)
• S. Laney Griffo, NAACP lawsuit to create majority-minority judicial district to be heard March 13, Louisiana Record (Feb. 26, 2017)
• John DeSantis, Both sides seem ready in judicial suit, The Times of Houma-Thibodaux (Feb. 14, 2017)
• A.P. Tureaud Jr., Guest column: At-large judge seats disregard black voters, The Advocate (Feb. 10, 2017)
• Kevinsha Walker, Federal District Court to Hear Minority Judgeship Lawsuit, HoumaToday (Jan. 20, 2017)

For more information, please visit our case page here.

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Founded in 1940, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is the nation’s first civil and human rights law organization and has been completely separate from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) since 1957—although LDF was originally founded by the NAACP and shares its commitment to equal rights. LDF’s Thurgood Marshall Institute is a multi-disciplinary and collaborative hub within LDF that launches targeted campaigns and undertakes innovative research to shape the civil rights narrative. In media attributions, please refer to us as the NAACP Legal Defense Fund or LDF.