Tagged: Supreme Court

Republican appeals court judge Jeff Hughes is moving up to Louisiana's highest court.

Hughes was the winner Saturday of a runoff election for an open seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court representing the eight-parish Baton Rouge region.

The seat is vacant because Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball is retiring at the end of January.

Hughes, a former state District Court judge from Livingston Parish, defeated one of his colleagues for the position: John Michael Guidry, a Democrat and former lawmaker from Baton Rouge.

Baton Rouge area voters will pick the next state Supreme Court justice in a runoff election Saturday. 

John Pierre, professor and vice chancellor at the Southern University Law Center, says the new justice will likely help decide the biggest battles of the past legislative session. The fight over private school vouchers is just one of them. 

Many names follow Obama and Romney on the Nov. 6 ballot here in southeast Louisiana.