PUBLIC STATEMENT
Every candidate for judicial office in Louisiana must campaign in accordance with the precepts contained in Canon 7 of the Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct. The Louisiana Judicial Campaign Oversight Committee (“the Committee”) is authorized by the Louisiana Supreme Court to review and investigate complaints, which allege violations of certain provisions of Canon 7.
Although Committee deliberations are and remain confidential, once a public statement has been issued and/or a complaint has been dismissed, the complaint and response are matters of public record and may be requested through the Court’s Community Relations division.
The Committee received a complaint against Trinicia Leonard, a judicial candidate for Shreveport City Court, Election District 2, Division D. The Committee finds that the conduct complained of violates Canon 7A(6), which provides that a judge or judicial candidate shall not “personally solicit or personally accept contributions.”
The complaint concerns Facebook posts made by Trinicia Leonard from both her personal and campaign Facebook pages. Those Facebook posts personally invite the public to attend her campaign fundraisers and request contributions to support her campaign. The posts also contain Cash App QR Codes or other instructions to collect contributions.
The Committee finds that through these
Facebook posts, Trinicia Leonard improperly personally solicited campaign contributions in violation of Canon 7A(6).
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Louisiana Judicial Campaign Oversight Committee
Judge John Conery (ret.), Chai