Jindal enters legal battle over state Supreme Court at last minute

Published Aug 14, 2012 at 10:00 am (Updated Aug 14, 2012)

At the last possible minute—and even a little later than that—Gov. Bobby Jindal on Monday entered the dispute over who will be the next chief justice, joining a motion on behalf of the state Supreme Court's power to make that decision on its own without the intervention of the federal court. The Times-Picayune reports it was a surprising development because as recently as Friday evening, it appeared the governor was going to stay out of the controversy over whether Supreme Court Justice Bernette Johnson has a rightful claim to be the next chief justice, with Jindal spokeswoman Shannon Bates saying, "It's an issue for the courts to decide." But in a court pleading Monday, Jindal's executive counsel, Elizabeth Baker Murrill, joined four attorneys from the New Orleans firm of Christovich & Kearney who had been assigned by the state to represent members of the Supreme Court aside from Johnson. The motion reiterates that the governor has no position on who should be picked as chief justice, and also spells out Jindal's belief it is an issue for the state, and not a federal court, to decide. Read the full story here.