Tucker L. Melancon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
United States District Judge Tucker L. Melancon
Judicial seat Seat created in 1881 by the presidential administration of James A. Garfield, Western District of Louisiana, Fifth Circuit
Term Start 11 February 1994
Term End December 2006
Nominator and date of nomination Bill Clinton, 18 November 1993
Date of Senatorial Confirmation 10 February 1994
Predecessor Tom Stagg
Successor Incumbent
Born 1946, Bryan, Texas
Other information Judge Melancon is a survivor of breast cancer which he was diagnosed as having in 2002. He is presently on the Board of Directors for the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

Tucker L. Melancon (b. 1946) is an American judge who serves on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana.[1] His judicial seat was first occupied by Judge Alexander Boarman.

Contents

[edit] Education and Career

He graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1968. He finished studies at Tulane Law School in 1973. He was a managing partner at Melancon & Rabalais, private practice with his colleague, Rodney M. Rabalais, in Marksville, Louisiana, 1973-1993.

Bar Admissions [2]

[edit] Notable cases

Melancon has presided over a number of cases in his judicial tenure of more than ten years. He has heard a variety of trials, ranging from: class action, tax evasion, drug trafficking, cross burning, as well as issues where the First Amendment and Clean Water Act standards were at stake or being violated. However, his legacy might be his devotion to the tragically-discouraging cause of desegregation in the public schools of the parishes that fall under his jurisdiction, such as St. Landry, Evangeline, and Franklin, among others. [3] [4] He recently sentenced one Evangeline Parish Board member to a short 10 days of incarceration with three days suspension, as well as high fines for criminal contempt (or contempt of court) a charge to which the Board member had pleaded guilty for attempting to manipulate a Court-ordered employment process.[5] One fine, US $3,000, was, according to Judge Melancon, retribution for what he said was the Board member's violation of the Court's desegregation order.[6]

Judge Melancon was accused in one Fifth Circuit decision of being "heavy handed" and tending towards "over management" in his dealings with the parish School Boards on the desegregation issues[7] In all fairness to him, however, there is a strong argument in favor of taking such an approach. Some, like the scholar and Civil Rights activists Peter Irons, author of, among many other works, Jim Crow's Children: The Broken Promise of the Brown Decision would say that if more judges would be so "heavy handed," there might be a lot more progress on this colossal problem.

[edit] Quotes

  • "Nothing is more sacred than the First Amendment... You don't change the standard just because it involves minors." He said these words in August 2000 during the Skate Zone trial in Iberia Parish. [8]

[edit] Other Roles

[9]

Pink ribbon

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Federal Judicial Center
  2. ^ Lawyer Directory
  3. ^ Consent Decree, Civil Action #15,632 (Monroe Division) US District Court, Western District of Louisiana
  4. ^ Burgess, Richard (15 December 2006) "School system's deadline remains." Baton Rouge Advocate
  5. ^ Vosper, Yuwa (15 December 2006) "Board member gets jail time." Daily World
  6. ^ Burgess, Richard (16 December 2006) "Savoy serving three days in jail." Baton Rouge Advocate
  7. ^ Burgess, Richard (18 May 2005) "5th Circuit criticizes judge's "heavy-handed ... style" in desegregation case."
  8. ^ "Owner asks judge to reopen skating rink closed for playing 'vulgar' music." Associated Press (3 August 2000)
  9. ^ Board member's information, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship

[edit] See also

[edit] Further reading

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../t/u/c/Tucker_L._Melancon_00d6.html"