Controversial jurist quits

• By BOB ANDERSON
• Advocate Florida parishes bureau
• Published: Nov 4, 2009 - Page: 1A

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A Tangipahoa Parish justice of the peace who drew national attention because of his refusal to marry interracial couples resigned Tuesday, the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office confirmed.

A couple complained last month that Keith Bardwell had refused to perform their marriage ceremony because one of them is white and the other is black.

Bardwell couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday, but said in an interview last month that it always had been his policy to marry couples of the same race, but not of different races.

He said he regularly asked people, who called about weddings, whether they were both of the same race.

Bardwell, who is white, said that in his 34 years as a justice of the peace that he had married white couples and black couples, but had never performed interracial marriage ceremonies.

Officials with several agencies said they were subsequently inundated with calls from across the country from people who disagreed with Bardwell’s stance.

The Greater Tangipahoa Parish Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the American Civil Liberties Union both called for sanctions against Bardwell, 56.

Gov. Bobby Jindal called for his resignation.

The couple involved in last month’s situation filed a federal lawsuit against Bardwell and his wife, who they said had informed them of her husband’s policy against performing interracial marriages.

Bardwell, who gave no reason for his resignation, would have had five more years in office had he not resigned, said Jacques Berry, a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s Office.

The resignation means that the governor will have to call for a special election and the Louisiana Supreme Court will have to appoint an interim replacement for Bardwell, Berry said.

Valerie Willard of the Louisiana Supreme Court said late Tuesday afternoon that the court had not yet received formal notification of Bardwell’s resignation.

Bardwell represented Ward 8 in Tangipahoa Parish.