Ken Stickney

kstickney@theadvertiser.com

OPELOUSAS — Judge Alonzo Harris ruled Monday in the 27th Judicial District that Vanessa Waguespack Anseman is not eligible to run for 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal because she does not meet the requirement that a candidate must have practiced law in Louisiana for at least 10 years. The judge said votes cast for Anseman should not be counted.

Anseman said after the hearing that her appeal for an expedited review by the 3rd Circuit Court would be made within the day and that she expected to be vindicated at that court level or by the Supreme Court.

The decision came 35 minutes following the conclusion of a two-hour hearing. Assistant District Attorney Donald Richard presented the state's case; Stephen A. LaFleuer of Alexandria represented Anseman.

IOTA — The hearing was requested by Earl Taylor, district attorney for the 27th JDC.

Anseman said the complaint was "driven by political reasons." Her opponents, attorneys Susan Theall and Candyce Perret, both of Lafayette, have both previously practiced law in St. Landry Parish.

"I hope this infuriates people as much as it infuriates me," Anseman said at an impromptu news conference in front of the courthouse. "Tell voters not to give up because I'm not going to."

At issue Monday was whether Anseman, who has actively practiced law for almost 10 years, met the qualification benchmark. Richard argued that under the best case for Anseman, she would be 20 days shy of meeting the standard when an April 29 runoff election is held. He also contended she was just shy of meeting the standard for continuing education.

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Anseman, in turn, cited in her defense the 1974 Louisiana Constitution and a 2006 amendment, approved by voters, that says the standard for experience should be measured from her date of admittance to the State Bar, which came more than 13 years ago. Because she has never had to reapply for readmission to the bar — she was never suspended or disbarred — she contends she is qualified.

Harris apparently was not moved. In his ruling, he said "admitted means eligible." Anseman was ineligible to practice for more than three years when she stopped practicing, did not pay her State Bar dues during that time and did not meet continuing education requirements. Because she was ineligible to practice law during that stretch of time — she had left practice to care for her ailing father and to raise her small children in late 2012 — that time should not be counted toward 10 years of practice.

The District Attorney's Office said the complaint was brought to them by Vyrona Wiltz, a registered voter in St. Landry Parish. Called as a witness, Wiltz said she raised the issue with the district attorney after reading Anseman might not have the requisite time as a practicing attorney to run.

Attorneys for Secretary of State Tom Schedler also intervened in the case, telling the court Monday that if Anseman were barred from running, her name would still appear on the March 25 ballot and that it appears now on ballots for early voting, ongoing this week. It also appears on absentee ballots that have been mailed to eligible 3rd District voters.

In his ruling, Harris said that should his ruling be final, Anseman's votes should not be counted.

Meg Casper Sundstrom, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State's Office, said if Harris' ruling is made final, notice will be posted at voting sites, as is done when candidates withdraw.

If no candidate wins a majority of the March 25 vote, the top two candidates will compete in an April 29 runoff.

The winner will serve the last eight years of the Court of Appeal term that Jimmy Genovese won in 2014. Genovese won election to the state Supreme Court on Nov. 8, 2016 and was sworn in Jan. 3.