Richard Ducote
Republican | Louisiana
Candidate Profile
Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Richard Ducote
Party
Republican
Election Year
2019
Election
Primary
Race
Assoc. Justice, 1st Supreme Court Dist.
Incumbent
No
Links
EDUCATION
Loyola Chicago School of Law, Chicago, LL.M., 2011
Loyola School of Law, New Orleans, J.D., 1978
Tulane University, New Orleans, B.S., 1974
WORK & MILITARY
Private practice of law, Lawyer, 36 years
La. DHHR, LA. DOTD, Lawyer, 4 years
Jeff. Parish Juvenile Court, Probation Officer, 2 1/2 yrs
AFFILIATIONS
Leadership Council on Abuse & Interpersonal Violen, Advisory Board, Hope House
Volunteer, Justice for Children, Voluteer, Honoree
Association of Family & Conciliation Courts, Member, National Council of Juvenile & Family Court Judges
Member, Prison Book Project, Volunteer
Boys & Girls Club, Contributor
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
(Candidate did not provide)
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Orleans Parish Juvenile Court Judge, 1984
Race
OTHER INFORMATION
QUESTIONNAIRE
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
Religious liberty is at risk in the United States and deserves the highest level of protection in the law.
Strongly Agree
The Ten Commandments should not be displayed in public school buildings or court houses.
Neutral
NATIONAL SECURITY
Islamic law (Sharia) should take precedence over national and state laws where there are Islamic majority communities in the U. S.
Strongly Disagree
VALUES
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality which permitted our system of limited government.
Strongly Agree
George Washington's comment that “Religion and morality are the essential pillars of civil society” is still true today.
Strongly Agree
What in the nature of mankind caused America’s Founders to carefully define, separate, and limit powers in the Constitution?
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I believe that we are all made in the image of God, who has a plan for our individual lives, and that He has endowed us with all of the tools and gifts to follow His plan. I believe that we all have a duty to use the gifts given us in pursuit of His plan, and to serve Him and mankind in everything we do. We are all sinners, and we should forgive others as we are forgiven. I believe Christ died for our sins, and that we will have eternal life if we believe in Him and follow his commandments. I am 100% pro life.
In light of the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges allowing members of the same sex to marry, which justice’s opinion in that case most closely approximates your understanding of marriage?
Roberts
ABOUT YOU
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and immigration, which of the following best describes you overall?
Very Conservative
Please provide publicly available information validating your answer to the previous question.
All of the postings on my Facebook page Ducote for Justice, and the links and documents contained therein, would support my answer.
What education or experience qualifies you to hold the office for which you seek election?
I have been practicing law for 41 years, have an advanced law degree (LL.M.), have tried cases in 46 states and 50 Louisiana courts. I served as a special assistant district attorney in 19 parishes. I have argued appeals in the U.S. Supreme Court, all appellate courts in Louisiana, and in appellate courts in PA, MD, MO, WA, WY, TN, CA, DE, AL, TX, FL, OK, ND, & VA; in the U.S. Courts of Appeals for the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 9th Circuits. I have written over 25 laws to protect abused and neglected children, to reform foster care and adoption practices, and have the highest peer review ratings from lawyers and judges for ethics and competence my entire career. I have won many honors and awards for my work from national, state, and local organizations. My writings and cases are used in law school text books, and I have taught and lectured nationwide for years. Few attorneys in the country can match my experience.
In what areas of law have you practiced?
All aspects of civil and criminal law; family law; appeals; juvenile court law; adoption; successions; contract; federal court cases; First Amendment; constitutional law.
E-mail address and phone number for voters to reach you:
ducoteforjustice@gmail.com (985)898-2755
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
My entire life has been purposeful and dedicated to protecting the vulnerable. I created the 1st program in the state to provide attorneys for abused and neglected kids in courts, and have written the first laws in Louisiana to prevent the killing of babies surviving abortion attempts. I am an adoptive parent and former foster parent. I am the father of four grown children, and three grandchildren. I take many pro bono cases to help abused women and children. My wife, Kathi, and I live in Covington. I take absolute no campaign contributions whatsoever, and am the only candidate pushing for open judicial misconduct files.
JUDICIAL PHILOSOPHY
The U.S. Constitution and my state constitution should be interpreted as living documents, rather than using a strict constructionist or originalist approach in judicial decisions.
Strongly Disagree
There are times when American judges should alter U.S. case law in order to comply with foreign case law.
Strongly Disagree
Which current U.S. Supreme Court justice best reflects your judicial philosophy?
Neil Gorsuch
Which U.S. president serving after 1960 best reflects your political philosophy?
Ronald Reagan
What is the proper use of legislative history in interpreting statutory law?
Resort to legislative history is only appropriate when necessary to understand the meaning of a wholly ambiguous word or phrase which cannot be understood otherwise.
What specific text in the Declaration of Independence provides the critical basis for individual rights and the form of government guaranteed in the United States Constitution?
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.
