Of the six possible Louisiana Supreme Court party primaries that could have been on the May 16 ballot, only one is being contested, but it’s a doozy.
William “Billy” Burris and Blair Downing Edwards are both claiming the conservative Republican mantle in their bid to replace Will Crain, following his move to the federal bench. They are the only candidates, so the Republican primary is the whole ballgame.
The campaign has gotten nasty, as Burris and his surrogates portray Edwards as an ethically compromised tool of trial lawyers, while Burris is accused of being dangerously incompetent and soft on crime.
Internal polling suggests a close race. Both sides may combine to spend close to $2 million in the leadup to election day, with at least one out-of-state committee pouring in serious money.
Burris serves as district judge for Division E of the 22nd Judicial District Court, covering Washington and St. Tammany parishes. He replaced his father in that role.
He sees himself as very much in line with Crain, and says he has never read an opinion of Crain’s that he disagreed with.
“I’m a lifelong conservative,” Burris says. “I have nothing personally against Judge Edwards, I just think I’d be the better candidate.”
Edwards currently serves on the First Circuit Court of Appeal, and previously managed the first Juvenile Division at the 21st Judicial District Court, which covers Livingston, St. Helena and Tangipahoa. She is married to retired Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards and is the sister-in-law of former Gov. John Bel Edwards.
“I am a Republican,” she told the Baton Rouge Press Club at a candidate forum last week. “I’ve always been a lifelong Christian conservative. My parents and my grandparents raised me to be a strong conservative, even while surrounded by folks that have very different views from me.”
The state’s major business groups are backing Burris, while Edwards has received significant support from trial lawyers. Burris also has been the beneficiary of attack ads by First Principles PAC, a Tennessee-based “dark money” group associated with nationally prominent conservative activist Leonard Leo.
First Principles has accused Edwards of “pretending to be a Republican” and being named “judge of the year” by “transgender loving, sex-change promoting DEI radicals.” In small print, the ad references Court Appointed Special Advocates, which honored Edwards in 2016.
Of course, a juvenile court judge getting recognition from CASA was not controversial at the time. Edwards even brags about it in an ad featuring Sheriffs Jason Ard of Livingston Parish, James Pohlmann of St. Bernard and Randy Smith of St. Tammany.
But last year, the Trump administration said it would cancel federal grants for the National CASA/GAL Association for Children before rescinding that decision, reportedly after the group removed references to race, class and gender diversity from its training materials, which apparently provides the basis for the attack.
Edwards is a former Democrat, and even ran for mayor of Amite City as a Democrat in 2000. But she tells LaPolitics that she has been a registered Republican since at least 2003, which is before President Donald Trump or U.S. Sen. John Kennedy joined the GOP. An ally even obtained a temporary restraining order meant to stop First Principles from disseminating “false information” about her political affiliation.
Burris’ campaign wants to tie Edwards to Smitty’s Supply, site of an explosion last summer that caused evacuations in Tangipahoa. She took out a loan in 2012 from a company with the same owner, which Burris argues should have led her to recuse herself when Smitty’s came before her court.
Edwards says she had no idea about the connection when her appeals court dealt with a workers’ comp dispute involving the company. The panel of judges partially affirmed the workers’ compensation judge’s decision but adjusted how attorneys fees would be awarded.
“I don’t know why we’re talking about it,” she said. “I shouldn’t have to recuse myself because I didn’t get any money from Smitty’s.”
Edwards has questioned Burris’ legal acumen, saying his decisions were overturned when appealed 42% of the time, “which is unheard of,” while she has “only been overturned three times in 16 years.” He also has given “illegally lenient sentences” to “child molesters,” she claims.
Burris says he has never heard the “42%” number and doesn’t see how it could be true.
“I’ve had literally hundreds of writ applications denied, which is in essence the court of appeal or the [state] Supreme Court agreeing that I’d already taken the appropriate action,” he says.
At the Press Club debate, he also pushed back on the notion that he’s a soft sentencer.
“In thousands of cases, she has found five cases where she thinks it was an illegally lenient sentence,” Burris says. “Let me tell you something about criminal law. I know y’all might find this amazing: Not every single case filed is a slam dunk guilty verdict.”
In his campaign finance report filed April 16, Burris reported raising $306,400 and spending almost $113,000, with close to $200,000 on hand. Edwards reported raising a total of almost $754,000, including a $125,000 loan to herself, spending more than $366,000 and having more than $446,000 on hand.
Supreme Court District 1 includes Livingston, St. Bernard, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa and Washington parishes, along with part of Orleans. While the Senate race will be the headliner statewide, elections for the Supreme Court, the Public Service Commission, Congressional District 5 and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education could have the region leading the state in voter turnout.
