Morvant gets LABI backing in Supreme Court race

Published Aug 3, 2012 at 3:00 pm (Updated Aug 3, 2012)

LABI announced today it's endorsing Baton Rouge District Judge Bill Morvant in the hotly contested race for the Louisiana Supreme Court. The powerful business group decided to throw its support behind Morvant after interviewing all eight potential candidates in the race to fill the seat being vacated by retiring Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball. LABI PAC Director Ginger Sawyer tells Daily Report Morvant best represents the interests of the business community because he is a strict constructionist who respects the legislative intent behind the laws. "Strict constructionism is very important to us," says Sawyer, adding LABI became active in Supreme Court races in the 1990s. "We found we were spending a lot of effort on legislative races and passing laws, and once they got to the courts, the courts would undo the legislative intent. … So we felt we had to get some justices whose interpretations of the law would be consistent with the intents of the law." Morvant did not immediately return a call seeking comment. The LABI endorsement is highly coveted, less for the votes it will bring than for the PAC money it delivers, which is important in a race that has become more crowded than many expected. Among the announced and interested candidates are four 1st Circuit Court of Appeal judges—John Michael Guidry, Toni Higginbotham, Jeff Hughes and Duke Welch—as well as two district judges, Guy Holdridge of Gonzales and Tim Kelley of Baton Rouge, and former Baton Rouge District Attorney Doug Moreau. According to LaPolitcs Weekly, observers now doubt Moreau and Holdridge will go to the post. —Stephanie Riegel