The district attorney for the 15th Judicial District has suggested that one of the three candidates vying to replace state Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Genovese on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal may not be qualified for the judicial bench and has suggested that she withdraw from the race.
District Attorney Keith Stutes tells The Advertiser he is researching a complaint about candidate and attorney Vanessa Waguespack Anseman’s qualifications for the judicial bench.
The complaint against Anseman says she has not been admitted to practice law long enough to meet the benchmarks for the Court of Appeal position.
And in a March 6 letter to Anseman, Stutes cites cases he says are related to minimum qualifications for the seat, noting it would be “entirely appropriate” for her to withdraw from the upcoming election.
Stutes says he is still researching the matter, and legal questions surrounding Anseman’s candidacy remain. Stutes says he would likely complete his research and make a decision about whether to contest Anseman’s election, should she win, within a week.
He cannot keep Anseman off the March 25 ballot.
Meg Casper Sunstrom, spokeswoman for the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office, says Anseman’s candidacy cannot be challenged at this time because complaints should have been filed by Jan. 20, a week after qualifying ended.
However, Sunstrom says the election results can be challenged. Stutes may face a long-shot effort to remove Anseman from that judicial bench, if she is elected.
Anseman is competing against attorneys Susan Theall and Candyce Perret, both of Lafayette, for the open seat.
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