Darrel J. Papillion

Darrel J. Papillion
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 1, 2023
Appointed byJoe Biden
Preceded byCarl Barbier
Personal details
Born
Darrel James Papillion[1]

(1968-10-19) October 19, 1968 (age 56)
Eunice, Louisiana, U.S.
EducationLouisiana State University (BA, JD)

Darrel James Papillion (born October 19, 1968)[2] is an American lawyer from Louisiana who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Early life and education

Papillion was born on October 19, 1968, in Eunice, Louisiana.[2] He received a Bachelor of Arts from Louisiana State University and A&M College in 1990 and a Juris Doctor from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University in 1994.[1]

Career

From 1994 to 1995, Papillion served as a law clerk for Associate Justice Catherine D. Kimball of the Louisiana Supreme Court. From 1995 to 1999, he was an associate at McGlinchey Stafford A.P.L.C. and from 1999 to 2001, he was an associate at Moore, Walters & Thompson, A.P.L.C. From 2001 to 2009, he was a partner at Moore, Walters, Thompson, Thomas, Papillion & Cullens, A.P.L.C. From 2009 to 2023, he was a partner with Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens, LLC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[1] As a lawyer, he focused on product liability, personal injury, and wrongful death cases.[3] Since 2000, he has been an adjunct professor at Paul M. Hebert Law Center and from 2005 to 2006 he was an adjunct professor at Southern University Law Center.[2]

From 2013 to 2014, he was president of the Baton Rouge Bar Association and from 2016 to 2017 he served as president of the Louisiana State Bar Association.[4] From 2020 until becoming a federal judge, Papillion served on the Board of Directors of the Innocence Project of New Orleans.[5][6]

Notable cases

Papillion served as co-counsel in Johnson v. Ardoin, a Voting Rights Act challenge to Louisiana's 2011 congressional districts. Papillion represented the plaintiffs, nine African American voters who alleged the congressional map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.[7][8][9][10]

Papillion represented plaintiffs in English v. Ardoin seeking declaratory and injunctive relief preventing Louisiana's Secretary of State from using the 2010 congressional districts reapportionment and redistricting map. The plaintiffs claimed the plan was violating the United States and Louisiana constitutions.[11][12][13]

Federal judicial service

On March 20, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Papillion to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.[3] On March 21, 2023, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Biden nominated Papillion to the seat vacated by Judge Carl Barbier, who assumed senior status on January 1, 2023.[14] He had the support of Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy.[15][16][17] On April 18, 2023, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[18] During his confirmation hearing, he was questioned by Senators Mike Lee and Marsha Blackburn over his role in prosecuting Tony Spell, a Louisiana pastor who defied state restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] On May 11, 2023, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–6 vote.[20][21] On May 17, 2023, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 63–33 vote.[22] On May 30, 2023, his nomination was confirmed by a 59–31 vote.[23][24] He received his judicial commission on June 1, 2023.[25]

Personal life

He married his wife, Shirley, in 1991 at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Oberlin, Louisiana.[26] In 2018, Papillion was considered for an earlier bench opening but withdrew from consideration when his wife was diagnosed with cancer and later died.[3] Papillion is Catholic.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "President Biden Names Thirty-First Round of Judicial Nominees and Announces New Nominees to Serve as U.S. Attorney" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. March 20, 2023. Retrieved March 20, 2023. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. ^ a b c "Darrel J. Papillion Profile | Baton Rouge, LA Lawyer | Martindale.com". www.martindale.com. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Ballard, Mark (March 20, 2023). "Joe Biden taps Baton Rouge trial lawyer Darrel Papillion to New Orleans federal court". NOLA.com.
  4. ^ "Darrel J. Papillion Installed as 76th President of the Louisiana State Bar Association". www.lsba.org. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  5. ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  6. ^ "AFJ: Darrel James Papillion Fact Sheet". April 13, 2023.
  7. ^ "New congressional maps in southern states dilute Black votes, critics say". PBS. September 4, 2022.
  8. ^ "Black Representation at Heart of Louisiana Redistricting Battle". March 27, 2022.
  9. ^ "Johnson v. Ardoin | Brennan Center for Justice".
  10. ^ "Darrel Papillion, J.D. | Cullens Group".
  11. ^ Chung, Andrew (June 29, 2022). "U.S. Supreme Court allows Louisiana electoral map faulted for racial bias". Reuters – via www.reuters.com.
  12. ^ "English v. Ardoin, 335 So. 3d 272 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com.
  13. ^ Ballard, Mark; Karlin, Sam (June 6, 2022). "Louisiana lawmakers must redraw maps, come up with second majority-minority district, judge rules". The Advocate.
  14. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. March 21, 2023.
  15. ^ Raymond, Nate. "Biden nominates four new federal judges across three states". reuters.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  16. ^ Alder, Madison. "Louisiana Trial Attorney Among Four New Biden Judicial Picks". news.bloomberglaw.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  17. ^ Press-Herald, Minden. "Kennedy supports Louisiana's Papillion: "He's a real lawyer's lawyer"". press-herald.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  18. ^ "Nominations". Washington, D.C.: United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. April 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Ballard, Mark. "New Orleans judicial nominee grilled on Tony Spell prosecution". nola.com. Retrieved April 21, 2023.
  20. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – May 11, 2023" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  21. ^ Ballard, Mark. "Senate committee sets up final Senate vote on confirmation of Darrel Papillion to federal bench". nola.com. Retrieved May 11, 2023.
  22. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Darrel James Papillion to be United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana)". United States Senate. May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  23. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Darrel James Papillion, of Louisiana, to be U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana)". United States Senate. May 30, 2023. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  24. ^ Ballard, Mark (May 30, 2023). "Senate confirms Baton Rouge lawyer Darrel Papillion for New Orleans federal court". nola.com. Retrieved May 30, 2023.
  25. ^ Darrel J. Papillion at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  26. ^ "Shirley Cezar married Darrel Papillion". Basile Weekly. August 8, 1991. p. 5. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  27. ^ "Darrel J. Papillion, Member | Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens". www.lawbr.net. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
2023–present 		Incumbent