Buras, Holmes, Lombard prevail in Orleans criminal court judge races

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Judges Camille Buras and Kimya Holmes prevailed Tuesday (Nov. 3) in their races to remain on the winnowed Orleans Parish Criminal District Court bench.

Baton Rouge legislators and Gov. Jeff Landry succeeded earlier this year in trimming three judges from the Orleans criminal court effective Jan. 1. That left four incumbent judges vying for just two open seats, while Magistrate Judge Juana Lombard also was challenged for her position by outsider Chanel Robinson Debose.

Lombard also retained her post, defeating Debose by a 54-46 margin.

In the fight for the Section D seat, incumbent Holmes trounced Judge Simone Levine, whose Section A seat was cut by the legislature. Holmes won by 16 percentage points, earning 70,882 of the 122,414 votes cast, or 58 percent.

And rather than defend his own Section I seat against Section E Judge Rhonda Goode-Douglas (whose section also was eliminated), Judge Leon Roche opted to abandon his section and challenge the court’s most experienced jurist -- Buras -- for her Section H seat.

The gambit failed miserably. Buras also won by 16 percentage points, 58-42 percent. Buras won 71,309 of the 122,802 votes cast in that race.

In the Orleans Parish Civil District Court, several judges were re-elected without opposition, including Ellen Hazeur, Marissa Hutabarat, Tiffany Delery, Monique Barial, Omar Mason, Jennifer Medley, Veronica Henry, Lori Jupiter, Nicole Sheppard and Sheryl Howard.

State Rep. Candace Newell easily defeated Warren McKenna III for the contested Division L seat, winning by a 57-43 percent margin. And Stephanie Bridges defeated Shawn Lindsay by a similar 57-43 margin for the civil court’s Division M bench.

In Jefferson Parish, former Orleans Parish prosecutor and longtime area attorney Joe McMahon III defeated Marko Marjanovic for the Division F seat in the 24th Judicial District Court. Marjanovic currently serves as executive legal counsel to the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office.

The seat has been held the past 14 years by Judge Michael Mentz, who is stepping down when his term expires Dec. 31.

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