Two judges have said they’re running for a seat on the Louisiana Supreme Court vacated by an associate justice who was appointed to a federal position.
Judge William “Billy” Burris of the 22nd District Court announced his plans to seek the Supreme Court seat Feb. 2. That District 1 Supreme Court position is open after Associate Justice William Crain was appointed to a judgeship in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Burris will be running against Judge Blaire Downing Edwards of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal in the Supreme Court race. Both are Republicans.
The official filing period for the election is February 11-13. The Republican primary is May 16.
“Like President Trump’s judicial appointees, I believe the role of a judge is not to make law, but to apply it faithfully,” Burris said in a news release announcing his candidacy.
He already has been endorsed by the Louisiana Motor Transport Association, and several other groups in the oil and gas industries are supporting him as well.
Burris received his bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University and his law degree from Southern University Law Center. He is a member of the Federalist Society and the National Rifle Association.
Edwards is a graduate of Nicholls State University, and she received her law degree from Loyola University.
“I am running for the Louisiana Supreme Court because our state deserves justices who are independent, rooted in conservative principles, and strong enough to stand their ground when it matters most,” Edwards said in a statement. “I have never wavered in my belief that the Constitution and the law — not politics or pressure — must guide every decision.”
Edwards is the wife of former Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff Daniel Edwards and the sister-in-law of former Gov. John Bel Edwards, both Democrats.
“My parents and grandparents raised me to be a strong conservative, even while surrounded by folks with opposing views — even family — and I’ve never lost my bearings,” she said. “Some call it stubborn; I call it backbone. I stand my ground, aim straight and keep a sense of humor about it …”
Burris, who took over his current job from his father, was the judge over Crain’s 2024 divorce proceedings. He granted Crain’s request to seal the divorce records even though public figures in Louisiana usually haven’t been allowed to keep such filings private. Crain voluntarily lifted the seal in August after it was finalized, just weeks before he was announced as the nominee for the federal position.
The District 1 Supreme Court seat covers Livingston, Tangipahoa, Washington, St. Tammany and St. Bernard parishes as well as portions of Orleans Parish.
The election will be one of the one of the first using the state’s new primary system in which only Republicans and independents can take part in the GOP primary.
