Terrebonne Parish voters to decide judicial outcome

A close race is expected Dec. 8 when voters return to the polls and select a judge for Louisiana’s 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Dist. 1, Div. B.

Lawyer, municipal magistrate and Nicholls State University business law professor Mitch Theriot (R-Raceland) is in runoff competition against 18th Judicial Court Judge William C. Dupont (D-Plaquemine).

A Lafourche Parish resident, Theriot has practiced law for 24 years, 16 of which have included teaching at Nicholls State University. He also serves as a municipal magistrate and was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives 1992-2000.

Dupont has served the 18th Judicial District Court, Div. D, since being elected to the bench in 2004. During his 37 years in the legal profession, Dupont served as a judge from municipal to district levels for 22 years.

“We were very happy with the [primary election],” Theriot said. “We figured William Dupont would be a front runner because he was the only Democrat and only candidate from the northern parishes [that comprise part of the appellate court’s jurisdiction].”

The four-candidate Nov. 6 primary election saw Dupont led the overall field to clench 38 percent of the vote on 71,821 ballots. Theriot was the top of three Republicans – all from Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes – and secured 62,844 ballots for 34 percent of total votes.

Houma lawyer Chris Erny gathered 20 percent of the overall vote with 36,520 ballots, while Thibodaux lawyer Mark Plaisance collected 15,444 votes and 8 percent of the field.

Among the Tri-parish region, Erny carried Terrebonne Parish with 40 percent of the vote, Theriot claimed Lafourche Parish with 53 percent and St. Mary Parish voters favored Dupont with 42 percent of ballots claimed.

Theriot carried 31 percent of vote in Terrebonne Parish for the second position there, while Dupont secured 23 percent of the ballots to show.

Lafourche Parish voters offered Erny 21 percent support, Dupont 16 percent and Plaisance 10 percent of the electorate.

St. Mary Parish saw Theriot place second with 32 percent of the field, Erny showed with 18 percent and Plaisance finished at 8 percent.

Dupont carried Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, Pointe Coupee and West Baton Rouge parishes by claiming an average 60.2 percent of the field. Theriot held an average 23.6 percent of the votes among those five parishes, while votes for Erny and Plaisance represented a combined average 16.4 percent of ballots for those areas.

“Plans for the second round are to get out the vote,” Theriot said. “We believe we can be in a good position to win. Turnout will be the issue because there will not be as many races as there were on the [Nov. 6] ballot.”

Theriot admitted he needs to not only maintain his support base, but also to pick-up 8,938 of the combined 114,848 Republican votes – including his own 62,884 – to defeat Dupont based on Nov. 6 returns.

“We’ve started calling [Erny’s and Plaisance’s] key backers and they are making commitments to come on board,” Theriot said. “The three of us divided the Republican vote and are in each other’s back yard. Now that we have one remaining the community is uniting behind the local candidate.”

Theriot said although the judicial branch is not considered political, having local judges on circuit and appellate courts helps offer a presence of shared values on the bench.

Prior to the Nov. 6 primary election, Dupont said advancing to the next bench level would be a natural next step in his profession. “I’ve had a very good career,” Dupont said. “The state has a lot invested in me to be a good judge and I would be derelict if I did not continue to use that experience and move on up to the appellate court.”

Dupont did not return repeated telephone calls offering him an offer to comment regarding his runoff race.

Theriot admitted that with Dupont already being on the circuit bench he holds a psychological advantage among some voters. The Republican candidate added that his own combined field and academic experience with law offers him a balance needed on the appellate level.

“What you want is someone with knowledge of the law,” Theriot said. “Practicing the law, teaching the law, interpreting the law and making the law is the experience we bring to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.”

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals is the largest of Louisiana’s five appellate courts, reviewing cases for 16 parishes. Lafourche, Terrebonne and St. Mary parishes are among those numbers.

The runoff election winner will fill a position held by 1st Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Edward Gaidry who will retire at the close of 2012.