Tucker L. Melancon

Tucker L. Melancon (born 1946) is an American judge who serves on the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana. [ [http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/tGetInfo?jid=1614 Federal Judicial Center] ] His judicial seat was first occupied by Judge Alexander Boarman.

Education and Career

He graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1968. He finished studies at Tulane Law School in 1973. He was a managing partner at Melancon & Rabalais, private practice with his colleague, Rodney M. Rabalais, in Marksville, Louisiana, 1973-1993.

Bar Admissions [ [http://pview.findlaw.com/view/1819182_1 Lawyer Directory] ]
* Louisiana, 1973
* United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, 1974
* United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1979
* United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, 1980
* United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, 1985
* United States Supreme Court, 1985

Notable cases

Melancon has presided over a number of cases in his judicial tenure of more than ten years. He has heard a variety of trials, ranging from: class action, tax evasion, drug trafficking, cross burning, as well as issues where the First Amendment and Clean Water Act standards were at stake or being violated. However, his legacy might be his devotion to the tragically-discouraging cause of desegregation in the public schools of the parishes that fall under his jurisdiction, such as St. Landry, Evangeline, and Franklin, among others. [Consent Decree, Civil Action #15,632 (Monroe Division) [http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/edo/documents/parishor.htm US District Court, Western District of Louisiana] ] [Burgess, Richard (15 December 2006) "School system's deadline remains." [http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/4924161.html Baton Rouge Advocate] ] He recently sentenced one Evangeline Parish Board member to a short 10 days of incarceration with three days suspension, as well as high fines for criminal contempt (or contempt of court) a charge to which the Board member had pleaded guilty for attempting to manipulate a Court-ordered employment process. [Vosper, Yuwa (15 December 2006) "Board member gets jail time." [http://www.dailyworld.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061215/NEWS01/612150303 Daily World] ] One fine, US $3,000, was, according to Judge Melancon, retribution for what he said was the Board member's violation of the Court's desegregation order. [Burgess, Richard (16 December 2006) "Savoy serving three days in jail." [http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/4934441.html Baton Rouge Advocate] ]

Judge Melancon was accused in one Fifth Circuit decision of being "heavy handed" and tending towards "over management" in his dealings with the parish School Boards on the desegregation issues [Burgess, Richard (18 May 2005) "5th Circuit criticizes judge's "heavy-handed ... style" in desegregation case."] In all fairness to him, however, there is a strong argument in favor of taking such an approach. Some, like the scholar and Civil Rights activists Peter Irons, author of, among many other works, "Jim Crow's Children: The Broken Promise of the Brown Decision" would say that if more judges would be so "heavy handed," there might be a lot more progress on this colossal problem.Unfortunately, heavy handed judicial action has frequently resulted in the opposite of its intended effect, as described in the 2003 book "The End of Desegregation?" by Caldas and Bankston. New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and several smaller districts in Louisiana were examined and the general result was a) increased segregation within the system and b) a decline in public support for the school system as families left the system and moved children into private schools, or moved to neighboring districts leaving behind the poorest and most vulnerable populations. Recent approaches suggest that voluntary plans and magnet schools hold more promise to bring races together and maintain high academic achievement (see C. Rossell "The Carrot or the Stick for School Desegregation Policy" (1990) and Rossell and Armor "The Effectiveness of School Desegregation Plans, 1968 – 1991" (1996)), something that "heavy handed" federal judges have not been able to accomplish.

Quotes

* "Nothing is more sacred than the First Amendment... You don't change the standard just because it involves minors." He said these words in August 2000 during the Skate Zone trial in Iberia Parish. ["Owner asks judge to reopen skating rink closed for playing 'vulgar' music." [http://www.freedomforum.org/templates/document.asp?documentID=3764 Associated Press (3 August 2000)] ]

Other Roles

[Board member's information, [http://www.canceradvocacy.org/news/pdf/Tucker%20Melancon%20Bio.pdf National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship] ]
* Board Member, National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship
* President, Avoyelles Parish Bar Association (1977-1978
* House of Delegates, Louisiana State Bar Association (1973-1975 and 1990-1994)
* Bar Association for the First and Fifth Federal Circuit
* Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Chapter
* Louisiana Bar Foundation
* American Judicature Society
* Member, American Inns of Court, Judge Fred Fudickar Chapter
* Member, American Inns of Court, Cross-Roads American Inn of Court of Alexandria-Pineville Chapter
* Member, American Inns of Court, John M. Dube Chapter
* Louisiana Workers' Compensation Advisory Board (1990-1991)
* Committee to Study Backlog in the Courts of Appeal, First and Third Circuits, by appointment of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1991
* American Trial Lawyers' Association
* President Advisory Board, Louisiana Trial Lawyers' Association

Footnotes

See also

* Clinton Administration

Further reading

* Burgess, Richard: "Federal judge plans Evangeline School Board investigation." Baton Rouge Advocate. 17 September 2005
* Burgess, Richard: "Family gets new cocaine case trial." Baton Rouge Advocate. 1 September 2006.
* "Judge bars two Lafayette men from preparing tax returns." Baton Rouge Advovate. 3 March 2005.
* [http://www.november.org/stayinfo/breaking06/SnitchTrial.html Bean, Alan: "Snitch Testimony on Trial." 30 March 2006.]
* [http://www.fojtulia.org/columb.htm Bean, Alan: "Dispatches from Cajun Hell." 14 July 2006.]
* [http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/4674171.html Burgess, Richard: "Five Sentenced For Lying to Get Lawsuit Payments." 17 November 2006.]
* [http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061216/NEWS01/612160322 McElfresh, Amanda: "Family Cleared in Drug Case." 16 December 2006]
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/law/news/wdl20050713.html Department of Justice Press Release, 13 July 2005]
* [http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2000/January/021enrd.htm Department of Justice Press Release, 13 January 2000]
* [http://www.nofba.org Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Chapter]
* [http://www.lsba.org Louisiana State Bar Association]
* [http://www.ltla.org/la Louisiana Trial Lawyers' Association]
* [http://www.raisingthebar.org Louisiana Bar Foundation]