Stanwood Duval
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Stanwood Richardson Duval, Jr., (b. February, 1942) (Democrat) is a New Orleans-based U.S. District Court judge in the Eastern District of Louisiana who has served under the appointment of President Clinton since 1994.
Duval was born in New Orleans to Stanwood Richardson Duval, Sr. (1913-2001), and the former Bonnie Parker Faught. He grew up in Houma, the seat of Terrebonne Parish, where his father operated a successful insurance business and was prominent in community affairs. He graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, in 1964, and from the LSU law school in 1966. He was in the private practice of law in Houma from 1966-1994, when he assumed his seat on the federal bench. Having been confirmed by the U.S. Senate on September 28, 1994, Duval succeeded Judge George Arceneaux, Jr. He was also the assistant city attorney of Houma from 1970-1972 and the attorney for the consolidated Terrebonne Parish government from 1988-1993.
In 2000, Duval issued an injunction which barred the State of Louisiana from issuing "Choose Life" vanity automobile license plates, as approved by the legislature in 1999. Duval ruled in favor of Planned Parenthood of America, which took the view that the choice of displaying the plates violated the First Amendment to the United States Constitution because there was no alternative license plate option available for supporters of abortion. Judge Duval's reasoning, however, was unanimously reversed by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on April 13, 2005. The judge became an object of political consideration in the 2003 gubernatorial campaign, when the unsuccessful Republican candidate, Bobby L. Jindal, lashed out at "liberal" judges without calling Duval by name.
Duval is a nephew of former conservative Democratic state Senator Claude Berwick Duval, I, (1914-1986), who represented mostly Terrebonne and neighboring St. Mary Parish between 1968 and 1980. His brother, Claude Berwick Duval, II, is a prominent Houma attorney and bears the name of their late uncle.
Judge Duval also issued rulings in 2005 and 2006 in reference to the constitutional rights of victims of Hurricane Katrina. He extended the time that hurricane survivors could continue receiving taxpayer-funded hotel stays.