Longtime judge says he won’t run again
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OPELOUSAS — Judge Kenneth Boagni Jr., after presiding over Opelousas City Court for the past 36 years, announced on Saturday that he does not plan to seek re-election in August.
Boagni said although his decision to step down was difficult, he plans to continue serving as city judge for the next six months and then continue his private law practice and spend more time with his family and other interests. Retirement from City Court would also allow Boagni and his wife, Lois, more time to enjoy playing tournament bridge card games, Boagni said.
City Court has jurisdiction over Ward 1 of St. Landry Parish, an area with about 40,000 residents, Boagni said.
Boagni said Louisiana’s Constitution mandates that judges retire at age 70, but he is exempt from that requirement, since he began serving as city judge in 1973, prior to the adoption of the present constitution.
Boagni said his duties on the bench have included handling all juvenile cases, traffic violations within the Opelousas city limits, municipal misdemeanors and prosecuting civil matters estimated at less than $15,000.
“I’ve averaged about 11,000 cases a year and during my tenure beginning in January, 1973, City Court has heard at least 300,000,” Boagni said.
Boagni said his successor would have to deal with the perennial problem of jail overcrowding and the lack of a parishwide juvenile detention facility.
“Besides having no place for juveniles, there is also a need for a halfway house for the third- and fourth-DWI offenders and those arrested for drugs and other non-violent crimes,” he said. “The jails in this parish are being clogged with those accused of those types of crimes.”
The judge asserted that he and his staff have been fiscally responsible, accessible and competent since he took office.
“I have been available at all times,” Boagni said. “Our telephone rings all night and sometimes I have felt more like a baby sitter than a judge.”c
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