23rd Judicial District judge
GONZALES — Civil and criminal lawyer Matthew Pryor has the experience, community involvement and respect for the U.S. Constitution to be a judge in the 23rd Judicial District, he said in declaring his candidacy for the office.
Pryor, 42, a Republican from Geismar, is seeking the court’s Division D seat in the March 24 special election. The 23rd District encompasses Ascension, Assumption and St. James parishes.
Pryor has been in private practice since graduating from LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1995 and was appointed judge pro tempore for Ascension Parish Court in 2008, his campaign announcement says. He presides over the misdemeanor criminal docket in the absence of sitting Judge Marilyn Lambert.
“The people of Louisiana deserve the most qualified and prepared judges. We need judges who will respect the original intent of the Constitution, resist the temptation to legislate from the bench and believe victim’s rights supersede criminal rights,” said Pryor, who graduated from LSU in 1992 with a bachelor’s in criminal justice.
The Division D seat was vacated in October by District Judge Jane Triche-Milazzo upon her appointment to the federal bench in New Orleans. Judge Pro Tempore John L. Peytavin is filling her term until a new judge is seated. Three years of the current six-year term in Division D have not been served.
“This is a great responsibility and requires the highest level of experience and integrity. My legal experience and community involvement confirm my qualifications,” Pryor, whose firm is in Gonzales, said in the statement.
Pryor said he has handled thousands of cases across south Louisiana in state and federal district courts and in Louisiana higher courts, including on matters involving insurance, e-commerce, collection, commercial, election, criminal, civil and family law.
Pryor has taught continuing legal education seminars and been an adjunct professor at River Parishes and Baton Rouge community colleges, his announcement says.
He has served as president of the Rotary Club of East Ascension and of Leadership Ascension, was on the Ascension Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and is active with his church and his children’s school finance committee.
Pryor and his wife, the former Alison Bexley, have two children, Alex, 12, and Ellie, 7.