Jean-Paul Morrell

Jean-Paul Jude Morrell, also known as J. P. Morrell (born September 2, 1978),^[1] is a lawyer from his native New Orleans, Louisiana, who is an African-American Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate for District 3 in Orleans Parish.

Background

Morrell is the third of four sons of Arthur Anthony Morrell, the Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal Court since 2006, and Cynthia Hedge-Morrell, the District D member of the New Orleans City Council from 2005 to 2014. He received his undergraduate education from the Roman Catholic-affiliated Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama, and his legal credentials from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans.^[2]

Morrell and his father operate the law firm Morrell & Morrell, LLC. Jean-Paul Morrell specializes in the fields of criminal defense, plaintiff personal injury, and domestic relations. He is a former part-time member of the Orleans Parish Indigent Defender Program. His older brother, Todd, and younger brother, Nicholas, are officers of the New Orleans Police Department.^[2]

Morrell and his wife, Catherine, have a son, Jude (named for his father's middle name), and a daughter, Fiona.^[2] He has also resided in Baton Rouge, Prairieville in Ascension Parish, and Jacksonville and Tallahassee, Florida, dates unavailable.^[3]

Political life

When Arthur Morrell was elected clerk of the New Orleans Criminal Court, he resigned his seat in the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 97,^[4] and Jean-Paul Morrell won a special election to complete his father's term. In the first round of balloting, Democrat Brian Patrick Egana (born May 1978), led the three-candidate field with 1,026 votes (44.1 percent). Morrell trailed with 978 votes (42 percent). Republican Gary Clark held the remaining 324 votes (13.9 percent).^[5] In the second round of balloting, Morrell defeated Egana, 2,783 (51.4 percent) to 2,636 (48.6 percent).^[6]

On December 6, 2008, Representative Jean-Paul Morrell won another special election to succeed Senator Derrick Shepherd, who resigned the position. Morrell polled 5,477 votes (54.6 percent) to 4,558 (45.4 percent) for another Democrat, Shawn Marcell Barney (born September 1974) of New Orleans.^[7] In 2011, he won his first full term in the Senate by defeating still another Democrat, Cynthia Willard-Lewis, who has served in both houses of the legislature and on the city council. Morrell polled 11,280 votes (53.3 percent) to Willard-Lewis's 9,911 (46.8 percent).^[8]

Morrell is a member of the Louisiana Black Caucus and the Democratic Caucus. He serves as chairman of the Senate Judiciary B Committee and serves as well on the Education, Revenue and Fiscal Affairs, and the Governmental Affairs committees.^[9]

Senator Morrell has been scored from 21 to 62 percent by the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry and 20 to 50 percent by the National Federation of Independent Business. He received an 83 percent rating from the Louisiana Association of Educators. He scored 29 to 60 percent from the conservative Louisiana Family Forum and 33 to 75 percent from Right to Life. He did not vote in 2014 on the requirement that abortion providers maintain hospital admitting privileges near their clinics.^[10]

He voted in 2014 to prohibit the transportation of dogs in the beds of pick-up trucks on interstate highways. In 2013, Morrell voted to reduce penalties for possession of marijuana. He not vote on the pay increase for state judges. He opposed lifetime concealed carry gun permits and voted to make information on the permits a matter of public record. In 2012, he voted against reducing the number of hours that polling places remain open; the state has traditionally maintained 14-hour polling days. He opposed term limits for school board members. He supported tax incentives to recruit a National Basketball Association team to Louisiana. I 2011, he voted for a permanent tax on cigarettes and opposed drug testing of welfare recipients.^[10]

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