New Orleans, LA─ The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana has announced the election of officers and appointees to serve for the 2025-2026 term. Third Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Hampton has been elected to serve as Chair, and Third Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Sharon D. Wilson was elected as Vice-Chair. In addition to these leadership roles, the Commission welcomes several new appointments as the Commission expands from nine volunteer members to fourteen, in accordance with La. Const. Article 5, Section 25, which was amended earlier this year. These new appointments include attorney Chester Cedars of St. Martin Parish, attorney Michael McGlone of Jefferson Parish, attorney John Sinquefield of East Baton Rouge Parish, Retired Justice Chet D. Traylor of Ouachita Parish, and Retired Judge Robert Wyatt of Calcasieu Parish. In addition, attorney D. Brennan Hussey of Caddo Parish and Dr. Shondra G. Williams of Jefferson Parish have been appointed to replace outgoing members.
In accordance with the Louisiana Constitution, Third Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Hampton was appointed to the Commission by the Louisiana Supreme Court and was elected by Commission members to serve as Chair for a one-year term, succeeding Suzanne H. Stinson. Judge Hampton earned his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Louisiana Tech University in 1978 and was named Outstanding Finance Student. He earned his Juris Doctor degree, magna cum laude, from Tulane University School of Law in 1981 and his Master of Laws degree from Southern Methodist University in 1990. He is a member of the Order of the Coif. Judge Hampton brings over four decades of legal experience across Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. He has served as an assistant district attorney, an indigent defender, and an active member of numerous judicial and civic organizations. Judge Hampton is a member of the American Judges Association and the Louisiana District Judges Association (currently serving as Secretary), was appointed to the Executive Board of the District Judges Association in 2021 and is a member of the Louisiana State Law Institute. Most recently, Judge Hampton was recognized with the 2025 Judge Benjamin Jones Judges in the Classroom Award and serves on the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Judges in the Classroom/Students in the Courtroom Task Force.
Third Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Sharon Darville Wilson is currently serving a second term on the Commission, having first been appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court. She was then elected by Commission members as Vice-Chair for a one-year term, succeeding Judge Bruce Hampton. Judge Wilson has served as a judge of the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, since 2020. Before her election to the Court of Appeal, she served as a judge of the 14th Judicial District Court in Calcasieu Parish, where she co-founded the Veterans Treatment Court and later became Chief Judge. Judge Wilson previously worked as an assistant district attorney at the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office, as a chief felony prosecutor at the Allen Parish District Attorney’s Office, and in private practice. She is the first African American woman elected District Judge in Calcasieu Parish. She has served as an Executive Board Member for the Louisiana District Judges Association, as a district judge-member of the Judiciary Commission from 2019 to 2020, and is currently serving a four year term as an appellate judge member of the Judiciary Commission. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in 1988 and her Juris Doctor degree from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1991.
Selected to serve on the Judiciary Commission by the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives, Mr. Chester Cedars is Chief Legal Counsel for the St. Martin Parish Sheriff’s Office. He has over 48 years of experience in the general practice of law. Mr. Cedars attended college at Louisiana State University and graduated from the Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1976. He practiced law in Lafayette and then relocated his practice to Breaux Bridge. In 1984, Cedars was hired as an assistant district attorney for the 16th Judicial District. He oversaw all felony prosecutions and served as the supervisor of St. Martin Parish. He retired from the District Attorney’s office in 2016. Mr. Cedars worked for the Louisiana Department of Justice under the direction of the Attorney General as Director of the Civil Division. Mr. Cedars served as the parish president of St. Martin Parish from 2018 to 2024. He has presented at numerous state conferences on topics including public records, open meeting laws, criminal justice reform, public body immunity, local governmental structure, and unfunded mandates. In October 2023, he was selected by the Louisiana Supreme Court to speak at its Judicial Fall Seminar. He has also recently served as chairman of the State Opioid Abatement Task Force, president of the Acadiana Crime Lab Commission, and Vice Chair of the Acadiana Planning Commission. He was a member of the Louisiana Commission on Justice System Funding. He was recently appointed to the board of the newly established Acadiana Juvenile Justice District.
Mr. Mike McGlone was appointed to the Judiciary Commission by the President of the Louisiana Senate. He attended Loyola University New Orleans and earned a bachelor’s degree in 1972. He also obtained a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University School of Law in 1975. Mr. McGlone has extensive experience in admiralty and maritime law, energy law, maritime energy litigation, marine insurance, personal injury defense, collisions, allisions, and federal and state appeals. He has over 50 years of experience in litigation. Since 2004, he has been a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He is a past recipient of the New Orleans City Business Leadership in Law Award, which recognizes the Top 50 attorneys in the Greater New Orleans region. Mr. McGlone has also been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America in Admiralty and Maritime for 2013-2021 and in Louisiana Super Lawyers for 2007-2025.
Selected to serve on the Judiciary Commission by Governor Jeff Landry, Mr. John W. Sinquefield is Executive Counsel to Attorney General Liz Murrill. Mr. Sinquefield received his bachelor’s degree from Northeast Louisiana State College in 1968. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center in 1971. Mr. Sinquefield has served as the first assistant to three District Attorneys and two Attorneys General. He is known for successful prosecutions of capital murder cases and for the defense of Louisiana’s Death Penalty Statutes. Mr. Sinquefield has served as an assistant prosecutor in New Orleans and as General Counsel for the National Center for Prosecution Management in Washington, D.C. He was the First Assistant District Attorney in Baton Rouge and Lake Charles for over 23 years. He is recognized as an expert in the management of prosecution offices and served as a past Vice President of the National District Attorneys Association. He serves as the Chairman of the Louisiana Sexual Assault Oversight Commission and is a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Impaired Driving. Mr. Sinquefield was profiled in the “Prosecutor Magazine,” a national publication, and dubbed one of the best lawyers in the nation in a front-page article in the “Times Picayune.” In 2004, “The Baton Rouge Advocate” reported that he had never lost a death penalty case. Mr. Sinquefield has been a featured speaker for the Prosecutors Associations of New York, Indiana, Georgia, Colorado, Vermont, and Louisiana. He has made presentations to the Association of Government Lawyers in Capital Litigation (Washington, DC), the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Baton Rouge Bar Association, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, the National District Attorneys Association, Louisiana State University, and Xavier University. Mr. Sinquefield served as a guest lecturer at the National College of District Attorneys and the University of Houston. He has been an on-site management consultant to the District Attorney’s Offices in Bronx, New York; Las Vegas, Nevada; Lansing, Michigan; Santa Barbara, California; Merced, California; San Diego, California; Sarasota, Florida; Pensacola, Florida; Salt Lake City, Utah; Baltimore, Maryland; Yakima, Washington; Detroit, Michigan and others.
Retired Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Chet D. Traylor was appointed to the Judiciary Commission by the President of the Louisiana Senate. Retired Justice Traylor earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Monroe in 1969 and a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola University School of Law in 1974. He served in the United States Army as a Military Police Investigator, rising to the rank of Sergeant E-5. He is a former Louisiana State Trooper and investigator for the Louisiana Department of Justice's Organized Crime and Racketeering Unit and was later the legal advisor to the Louisiana State Police's Narcotics, Detectives, and Intelligence units. From 1975 to 1982, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in Franklin Parish. Retired Justice Traylor served as a judge of the Fifth Judicial District Court from 1985 until his election to the Louisiana Supreme Court, Fourth District in 1997. He was a founding board member of the Winnsboro Economic Development Foundation and served as a board member of the Winnsboro Lions Club and of the Franklin Parish Mental Health Association.
Retired Judge Robert Wyatt was appointed to the Judiciary Commission by the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Judge Wyatt received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1978 and a Juris Doctor degree from Louisiana State University Law School in 1981. Judge Wyatt practiced law in Lake Charles and Lafayette from 1981 to 1985, when he joined the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office in Lake Charles. He was an Assistant District Attorney for 17 years; during the first five years, he worked in the Civil Section, and thereafter, he became the supervisor of the Misdemeanor/Criminal Intake Section, responsible for juvenile prosecution and OCS matters. Retired Judge Wyatt served as a 14th Judicial District Court judge from 2003 to 2024. In 2009, Judge Wyatt created the 14th Judicial District Court Mental Health Court. Since 1992, Judge Wyatt has devoted a significant portion of his time to teaching classes on both domestic violence and juvenile justice at the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Regional Academy. He has instructed the Office of Community Services, the Louisiana Juvenile Detention Association, and the LSU Law Enforcement Continuing Education classes for many years, and he has been a Crisis Intervention Training instructor since 2012. Judge Wyatt is a member or former member of the Louisiana District Judges’ Association; Third Circuit Judges’ Association (Past-President); Southwest Louisiana Bar Association; Louisiana District Attorney’s Association; National District Attorney’s Association; Louisiana Juvenile Detention Association (Board of Directors 1995-1997); National Juvenile Detention Association; Southwest Louisiana CASA Community Advisory Board; Southwest Louisiana Safety Council, Executive Board; and Southwest Louisiana Bar Foundation (Past President).
Selected to serve on the Judiciary Commission by the Conference of Court of Appeal Judges, Mr. D. Brennan Hussey is a partner in the law firm Casten & Pearce, APLC, in Shreveport. Mr. Hussey received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina in 1984 and his Juris Doctor degree from Tulane University Law School in 1987. After law school, Mr. Hussey served as an Assistant District Attorney in Jefferson Parish from 1987 to 1991 and has maintained a civil practice since then. Mr. Hussey’s current practice areas include commercial and civil litigation, representation and defense of state agencies, departments, and political subdivisions, medical malpractice defense, commercial law, and succession. From 1997 to 2004, Mr. Hussey was an Adjunct Professor at Louisiana State University, Shreveport, where he taught business law. Mr. Hussey is Past Chairman of the Shreveport Bar Association’s Archives Committee, Past Member of the Shreveport Bar Association’s Ethics and Grievance, Nominating, and Membership Committees, and Past Member of the Shreveport Bar Association’s Board of Directors, Young Lawyers Section.
Dr. Shondra G. Williams was appointed to the Judiciary Commission by the Louisiana District Judges Association. She earned a master’s from Loyola University New Orleans in 2001 and a doctorate in nursing from Southern University in 2009. Since 2012, she has served as President and CEO of InclusivCare, a non-profit healthcare provider. Under her leadership, InclusivCare has expanded care sites fourfold, opened two pharmacies, and launched a new early childcare center in 2023. Dr. Williams is active in numerous organizations, including as Chair of the Jefferson Community Foundation, and has held roles with the Jefferson Economic Development Corporation, 504Healthnet, and others. She frequently speaks at conferences on leadership, healthcare, and workforce strategies.