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An investiture ceremony was held Thursday afternoon for Chief Justice John Weimer, a Thibodaux native who became the 26th Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court on January 1, 2021.
Weimer was entrusted with the role following the retirement of Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson — the first African American to serve in the position.
“…I promise to work hard and be dedicated to the principles of impartiality, independence and fairness while pursuing justice and acting with integrity, just as did my predecessors,” Weimer said during Thursday’s ceremony that was attended by Governor John Bel Edwards, Attorney General Jeff Landry and other elected state officials.
Weimer’s service on the state Supreme Court goes back to 2001 when he was elected to serve as an Associate Justice, District 6, which is comprised of the parishes of Assumption, Iberia Lafourche, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Martin, St. Mary, Terrebonne and a portion of the west bank of Jefferson.
Over his career, he has won numerous awards, including the Outstanding Judicial Award from Victims and Citizens Against Crime, Outstanding Jurist Award from Crimefighters, Inc. (both statewide organizations dedicated to victims of crime), and the Award of Merit by Common Sense Against Crime and Crimefighters.
The chief justice has also been acclaimed for his assistance in establishing the Lafourche Parish Drug Treatment Court.
A graduate of Thibodaux High School, Weimer was a full-time faculty member at Nicholls State University (also a Hall of Fame graduate of the university) — where he taught law and ethics classes for 16 years prior to taking the bench. Over the course of his teaching career, he received the Presidential Award for Teaching Excellence and was also named to the “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.”
Weimer is also a member of the Thibodaux Volunteer Fire Department, Fire Company No. 1, and an award-winning painter — which allowed him to raise thousands of dollars for charity through donated works.
“I ask one favor,” said the chief justice during his closing remarks on Thursday. “I ask for your prayers that my decisions and the decisions of my judicial colleagues will be just, wise, fair and that we will have an understanding heart — that we are good servants as we toil in the vengeance of justice.”
