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Nakisha Ervin-Knott, left, and Lloyd Medley, right.
Nakisha Ervin-Knott defeated longtime Judge Lloyd Medley Jr. for Orleans Parish Civil District Court on Tuesday, putting an end to the incumbent's 18 years on the bench.
During the campaign, Medley, 66, sparred with Ervin-Knott, 40, over whether lawsuits have languished too long in Division D.
Ervin-Knott, a Democrat and a lawyer for 16 years, attacked Medley's record, arguing that litigation before him often takes years to resolve, frustrating lawyers. She vowed to work harder and more efficiently than the incumbent.
Medley, also a Democrat, defended his record, saying his docket is up to date.
Despite Medley's years on the bench, a New Orleans Bar Association poll in mid-October indicated that the legal community favored Ervin-Knott, who got 54.4 percent of the vote among the 321 lawyers who participated. Medley came in with 39.7 percent in that poll.
Ervin-Knott is a partner at Gainsburgh, Benjamin, David, Meunier & Warshauer and a 1998 graduate of Southern University Law Center.