George Arceneaux

George Arceneaux Jr.
Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
In office September 26, 1979 – April 6, 1993
Appointed by	Jimmy Carter
Preceded by	New judgeship
Succeeded by	Stanwood Duval
Personal details
Born	(1928-05-17)May 17, 1928 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	April 6, 1993(1993-04-06) (aged 64) Houma, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mary Martin Arceneaux
Children	Mary Elizabeth Arceneaux Dionne George Arceneaux, III Robert Martin Arceneaux
Parent(s)	Louise Austin and George Arceneaux Sr.
Alma mater	Louisiana State University American University, Washington College of Law
Occupation	Lawyer/Judge Aide to U.S. Senator Allen J. Ellender
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army

George Arceneaux Jr. (May 17, 1928 – April 6, 1993) was a United States federal judge from Houma, Louisiana.

Biography

Born in New Orleans, Arceneaux served in the United States Army from 1951 to 1952 and then procured a BA degree in 1949 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and a JD from American University, Washington College of Law in 1957. He was an administrative assistant to Democratic U.S. Senator Allen J. Ellender from 1952 to 1960. He was thereafter in private practice in Houma from 1960 to 1979.

On June 12, 1979, Arceneaux was nominated by U.S. President Jimmy Carter to a new seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana created by 92 Stat. 1629. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 25, 1979, and received his commission the following day, and served until his death in Houma.

In 1991, Arceneaux delivered the maximum sentence allowed on the conviction for multiple felonies of former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Douglas D. "Doug" Green of Baton Rouge. Judge Arceneaux ordered Green to serve twenty-eight concurrent five-year terms on conviction of conspiracy and mail fraud and two concurrent 20-year terms for laundering campaign loans. A jury determined that Green conspired with John and Naaman Eicher of the Champion Insurance Company, his largest campaign donors, to keep the failing company intact, a decision which cost Louisiana taxpayers $150 million. According to prosecution evidence, Green received $2.7 million in bribes. Green ultimately served about half of his total 25-year sentence in the federal prison in Pensacola, Florida.

Arceneaux was one of two sons of George Arceneaux, Sr., and the former Louise Austin. His brother was the educator Tommie Eugene "Tom" Arceneaux (1936-2013), who taught in East Baton Rouge and West Baton Rouge parishes and in other locations in Florida and Mississippi. Judge Arceneaux and his wife, the former Mary Martin, had three children, Mary Elizabeth Arceneaux Dionne (husband Fernand) of Metairie, Louisiana; George Arceneaux, III (wife Lynn), of Carencro, Louisiana, and Robert Martin Arceneaux (wife Jill) of Katy, Texas.

References

• George Arceneaux Jr. at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.