Running for Office: 23rd Judicial District Court, Division D
Jessie LeBlanc, R.
GONZALES — Jessie LeBlanc’s legal experience and service as a 23rd Judicial District court administrator and hearing officer make her qualified to be a state district judge, she said.
LeBlanc, 42, a Republican lawyer from Gonzales, is seeking the vacant Division D seat in a March 24 special election, her campaign announcement says.
“I have the hands-on knowledge of our courts, the experience in its operations and insight into the daily workings of our judicial system that you want, need and deserve in a judge,” LeBlanc said in the announcement.
Three years of the current six-year term in Division D have not been served. The seat was vacated in October by Judge Jane Triche-Milazzo, who was appointed to the federal bench in New Orleans. The Louisiana Supreme Court appointed Judge Pro Tempore John L. Peytavin to fill the seat until a new judge is elected.
The 23rd Judicial District encompasses Ascension, Assumption and St. James parishes.
In her current job, LeBlanc presides over all protective order and criminal child support cases. She also handles all paternity cases initiated by the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services in Ascension, her announcement says.
LeBlanc’s history working with families gives her insight into turning juveniles away from bad decisions and, in some cases, a life of crime, her announcement says.
“I know when to act firmly and when to seek other avenues to help change a life,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc has also been a public defender representing primarily indigent juveniles and an assistant district attorney representing parish boards and commissions. She also had her own legal practice from 1996 until 2003 when she was appointed as hearing officer and judicial administrator.
LeBlanc is a graduate of LSU’s Paul M. Hebert Law Center, LSU and East Ascension High School. She and her husband, David LeBlanc, have three children and are members of St. Anne Catholic Church in Sorrento.
LeBlanc is the daughter of Gerald and Mary McCrory and the daughter-in-law of Elwood and Charlene LeBlanc.
Visit http://www.JessieLeBlanc.com.