Attorney became Criminal District Court Section J Judge John Fuller on Wednesday morning in the courthouse where heβd been practicing for years as a . Heβs used to appearing before judges. Now he is one.
Fuller has filled an that ends Dec. 31. If the Louisiana Legislature has its way, Fullerβs job will be eliminated and heβll be out of work.
Courtesy of Andre Gaudin Jr.
About the same time yesterday morning, attorney Andreβ Gaudin Jr., the man Fuller defeated to win the judgeship, was working on the Orleans Parish District Attorneyβs case management system, looking at ways to improve processes with judicial partners.
Gaudin took a leave of absence from his job as chief screener at the DAβs office on Feb. 10. He returned to work on May 21. He had been planning a job transition.
Fuller won the May 16 election with 65% of the vote.
Gaudin is a classy, graceful loser.
βHi. Iβm Andreβ Gaudin Jr., failed judicial candidate,β Gaudin said in an Instagram video posted after his election loss. βI wanted to come on here one last time and say thank you. Thank you to everyone who voted for me this past Saturday.β He thanked his campaign donors, volunteers and everyone who helped in any way. Then he added this:
βI also want to say congratulations to my opponent, Judge-elect John Fuller, on his positive campaign and strong win. John, I welcome you back to public service, and I wish you luck in serving Section J.β
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Thatβs a positive, upbeat message for someone who, figuratively, got a political beat down.
Using his words, Gaudin might be a βfailed judicial candidate,β but heβs not a failed attorney, public servant, husband and father. He recognizes that, and heβs moving on.
The Legislature should do the same.
Also on Wednesday morning, there were membership adjustments to the Senate Conference Committee, where Senate Bill 217 landed after the House and the Senate passed different versions of the bill. The original measure would reduce the number of Orleans Parish Criminal Court judges from 12 to nine, eliminate one of 14 Civil District Court judges and decrease the number of juvenile court judges from four to two.
The Legislative session is scheduled to end at 6 p.m. Monday, June 1. The conference committee can negotiate and reach a compromise before it ends.
Or, it could follow Gaudinβs lead, realize that the defeat of five constitutional amendments on the May 16 ballot, the mistake of eliminating the Orleans Parish Criminal Court clerk position and redistricting anger growing across the state and the nation could mean bad news for Republicans.
Like Democrat Gaudin, Republicans should move on and let it go.