Bernette Johnson
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Bernette J. Johnson was the chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, representing the Seventh District. She was elected to the court in 1994 and re-elected in 2000 and 2010 after running unopposed. Her term ended on December 31, 2020.
Johnson became the first black chief justice in Louisiana after she was chosen to succeed former Chief Justice Catherine Kimball in 2013.[1][2][3]
She has received multiple awards, including a National Nobel Woman Award presented by the Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women in 2005 and the Distinguished Civil Rights Advocate Award presented by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law in 2010.
Education
Johnson received her B.A. from Spelman College in 1964 and her J.D. from Louisiana State University in 1969.[1]
Career
- 1994 - 2021: Justice, Louisiana Supreme Court
- 1984-1994: Judge, 41st Judicial District, Louisiana
Johnson previously worked for the New Orleans City Attorney's office. Johnson also worked in the 1960s as a community organizer for the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund in New York City and as a legal services attorney for the New Orleans Legal Assistance Corporation.[1][4]
Awards and associations
- 2013: Joan Dempsey Klein Award, National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ)[5]
- 2010: Distinguished Civil Rights Advocate Award, Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law[6]
- 2009: Distinguished Jurist Award, Louisiana Bar Foundation
- President's Award for Exceptional Service as co-chair of the Task Force on Diversity in the Profession, Louisiana Bar Association
- 1997, 2008: President's Award, Louis A. Martinet Legal Society
- 2005: National Nobel Woman Award, Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women
- 2005: Judicial Public Service Award, Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order Nobles Mystic Shrine of North and South America[1]
Elections
2010
- Main article: Louisiana judicial elections, 2010
Johnson was re-elected to the supreme court after running unopposed.
Noteworthy cases
State v. Coleman (2007)
Justice Johnson wrote the majority opinion, which found that a prosecutor consciously took race into account when, in a death penalty case with a black defendant who was convicted of first degree murder, he failed to select a black juror who had filed a discrimination lawsuit against the state for "institutional discrimination."[7]
Voicestream v. LA Public Service Commission (2006)
Justice Johnson wrote the majority opinion, which held that a Government Agency Order requiring cell phone providers to pay into a fund for setting up rural phone service was a permissible "fee" rather than an unconstitutionally impermissible "tax," even though the eventual effect of these fees would be to pass on the costs to cell phone users rather than the general public.[8]
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan ideology of state supreme court justices. They created a scoring system in which a score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology, while scores below 0 were more liberal.
Johnson received a campaign finance score of -0.06, indicating a liberal ideological leaning. This was more liberal than the average score of 0.35 that justices received in Louisiana.
The study was based on data from campaign contributions by the judges themselves, the partisan leaning of those who contributed to the judges' campaigns, or, in the absence of elections, the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice, but an academic summary of various relevant factors.[9]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Louisiana Supreme Court, "Official biography of Justice Johnson"
- ↑ The Associated Press, "After spat, La. to have 1st black chief justice," October 16, 2012
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Bernette Johnson sworn in as Louisiana Supreme Court's first black chief justice," February 1, 2013
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Associate Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson (LA)"
- ↑ Louisiana Weekly, "La.'s first Black chief justice to receive major award," October 7, 2013
- ↑ PRWeb, "CNN and the Honorable Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Bernette Johnson to Receive Lawyers’ Committee’s Distinguished Civil Rights Advocate Award," July 22, 2010
- ↑ Louisiana Supreme Court, "State v. Coleman," November 2, 2007
- ↑ FindLaw, "Supreme Court of Louisiana, Voicestream v. LA Public Service Commission," November 29, 2006
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
Federal courts:
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana
State courts:
Louisiana Supreme Court • Louisiana Courts of Appeal • Louisiana District Courts • Louisiana City Courts • Louisiana Family Courts • Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts • Louisiana Juvenile Courts • Louisiana Mayor’s Courts • Louisiana Municipal Courts • Louisiana Parish Courts • Louisiana Traffic Courts
State resources:
Courts in Louisiana • Louisiana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Louisiana
