Running for Office: City Court Judge Division B
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Citing 32 years of legal and trial experience, attorney Arthur R. Thomas has announced his candidacy for the Baton Rouge City Court Judge Division B seat.
Thomas, 57, a Democrat, is general partner of Arthur R. Thomas and Associates.
The election is slated for May 2. If a runoff is necessary, it will be held May 30. Division B covers the western-most part of the city limits from Thomas Road to south of Lee Drive.
Before starting his own law firm, Thomas was a member of the Johnson, Taylor, and Thomas law firm, a staff attorney for the state attorney general, a staff member of former U.S. Rep. Gillis Long, and a committee clerk in the Legislature.
Thomas also worked with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in the East Baton Rouge Parish school desegregation case which settled in July 2004.
He has also worked as a hearings and appeals due process officer for the state Department of Education.
“Baton Rouge needs a City Court judge who is competent, who has judicial experience, and who will not need on-the-job training,” Thomas said in his candidate announcement.
In an effort to move through an overcrowded docket, Thomas is proposing a night court to assist people whose daytime jobs prevent them from showing up for court.
Thomas also wants to create an evening and weekend program, “The People’s Voice,” to address recidivism in crimes ranging from family and domestic violence to vandalism and other misdemeanors.
Thomas received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Southern University in 1973 and his law degree from Southern in 1976.
Thomas is a former president of the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society, former president of the Southern University Law Center Alumni Association, former board chairman of the Capital Area Legal Services, and legal counsel for Phi Beta Sigma.
Thomas has five opponents in the race. Four are Democrats: Donald Dobbins, Kevin “Lovell” James, Tarvald Anthony Smith and Kelli Terrell Temple. Also running is Republican Durinda Robinson.
The seat became vacant when former City Court Judge Trudy White was elected state district judge in October.
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