An appeals court has ruled that one of the three candidates in a historic Louisiana Supreme Court race should be removed from the ballot.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal on Wednesday sided with a Baton Rouge woman who filed a lawsuit last month challenging the candidacy of Leslie Ricard Chambers for the state court’s recently redrawn Second District.
In reversing a July 30 ruling by 19th Judicial District Court Judge Donald Johnson, the Fourth Circuit determined Chambers failed to prove she successfully filed her state taxes in 2022. The appellate court granted an injunction that, for the moment, ends Chambers’ campaign.
Her campaign director, Jason Redmond, said in an email on Thursday that Chambers plans to make an appeal, asking the state Supreme Court to review Wednesday’s decision. It will be up to those justices to determine whether her case has merits to be considered.
Elisa Knowles Collins, 76, filed the lawsuit July 26 in the Baton Rouge-based 19th JDC. She alleged Chambers, the Louisiana Housing Corporation’s chief of staff, does not live within reapportioned boundary lines for the court’s second majority-Black voting district. The plaintiff in the case also cited Louisiana Department of Revenue records that, according to her attorneys, proved Chambers lied on her qualifying forms when she said she filed her 2022 state income taxes.
State law requires Supreme Court candidates to file their state and federal taxes for each of the five years leading up to elections in order to qualify. Collins also challenged Second District Court of Appeal Judge Marcus Hunter’s candidacy in her lawsuit, saying he failed to file his taxes in 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Hunter and Chambers both qualified to run against First Circuit Court of Appeal Chief Judge Michael Guidry for the newly carved Second District seat on the Supreme Court. The primary in the race is Nov. 5.
All three are Black, guaranteeing that whoever wins the seat will become the second Black justice on the state’s top court.
At the July 30 hearing, Collins revealed that her daughter is a chief administrative counsel for the First Circuit. Her suit sought to disqualify both Hunter and Chambers, an outcome that would have effectively handed the seat to Guidry.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed the decision to keep Hunter on the ballot, citing testimony from his Shreveport accountant that he believed his taxes for all three years had been filed before the three-day qualifying period ended July 19.
The accountant testified at the July 30 hearing that she electronically filed Hunter’s 2021 taxes in July 2022, and filed the judge’s 2022 and 2023 tax returns July 16, on the eve of qualifying. It wasn’t until July 27 that the accountant learned that the IRS received those tax returns but the Louisiana Department of Revenue rejected them because a temporary identity protection PIN was required.
“Although there was testimony that Judge Hunter’s taxes had been rejected and needed to be filed in an alternate manner, we find that the rejection does not amount to a failure to file,” the Fourth Circuit ruled in Wednesday’s order. “Once the CPA transmitted the returns electronically and communicated the same to Judge Hunter, he complied with the filing requirements set out in the notice of candidacy. Judge Hunter satisfied his burden.”
After Judge Johnson denied her motion, Collins appealed the decision to the Baton Rouge appellate court. All seven judges on the panel, including Guidry, recused themselves, citing his candidacy. The case was reallotted to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in New Orleans, and the 12 judges there heard arguments from attorneys Wednesday afternoon.
Qualifying standards in the Louisiana Constitution require candidates to be domiciled in-district for at least a year before the election date to be legitimatized as contenders for public office.
Collins said Chambers failed to meet the residency requirements because she lives in Gonzales. Ascension Parish is not within the confines of the Supreme Court’s Second District.
Chambers testified last month that she has never lived in East Baton Rouge, but has worked in the parish, establishing roots for the past 15 years.
The Fourth Circuit did not consider her residency status, determining it was a moot issue after they disqualified her over her tax filings.
Chambers said she filed her 2022 taxes online in June, using Turbo Tax. She was told she was owed a nearly $5,000 return and believed she had successfully submitted the returns. But the Louisiana Department of Revenue indicates it never received Chamber’s tax filings for that year.
“The TurboTax document Ms. Chambers provided as evidence does not provide proof of transmission of her 2022 Louisiana state tax return to a third party,” the court stated. “The TurboTax document only provides that if Ms. Chambers were to file her 2022 Louisiana state tax return, she would be owed a refund in the amount of $4,958.00.”
