Posted on 11/18/2010 5:53:08 PM PST by abb
U.S. District Judge Ivan L.R. Lemelle has ordered the Tangipahoa School Board to place a tax proposition on the April 2011 ballot, according to court documents.
The order, dated Wednesday, reinforces earlier court orders and Lemelle’s statements during a U.S. District Court hearing Friday in New Orleans, when he warned the board that failure to put the measure on the ballot could result in court sanction.
“To say, ‘We are not going to comply (with a court order)’ is not acceptable,” Lemelle told the board during Friday’s hearing. “You will force me to react.”
The School Board could face a contempt of court charge if it fails to place the measure on the April ballot, Lemelle said.
It was not clear whether Lemelle would sanction the entire board or individual members who voted against the proposal.
The tax proposals include a 29.5-mill parishwide property tax and a 1-cent sales tax. The two taxes must be passed together in order to help fund the parish’s estimated $200 million desegregation plan.
The tax proposals have been met by opposition from the public, including some of the board members.
“I opposed the plan because it was not representative of my people who would be hardest hit,” board member Sandra Bailey-Simmons, of Loranger, told Lemelle.
The judge told Bailey-Simmons that he appreciated her objections, but that the board had no choice.
“You as a party in the case have to comply with court orders,” Lemelle said.
ping
Lemelle, Ivan L. R.
Born 1950 in Opelousas, LA
Federal Judicial Service:
Judge, U. S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana
Nominated by William J. Clinton on February 12, 1997, to a seat vacated by Veronica D. Wicker; Confirmed by the Senate on April 3, 1998, and received commission on April 7, 1998.
U.S. Magistrate, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, 1984-1998
Education:
Xavier University, Louisiana, B.S., 1971
Loyola University New Orleans School of Law, J.D., 1974
Professional Career:
Law clerk, Hon. Robert Collins, Orleans Parish Criminal District Court, LA, 1972-1974
Assistant district attorney, Parish of New Orleans, LA, 1974-1977
Private practice, New Orleans, LA, 1977-1981
Assistant city attorney, New Orleans, LA, 1977-1978
Assistant state attorney general, Louisiana Department of Justice, 1980-1984
What if it goes on the ballot, and gets voted down?
Go to hell Judge.
Relocate Sec. 8 housing to the judge’s neighborhood then file a motion to reconsider
It will. They’ve tried a tax a couple of times already. Here’s the political demographics of the parish.
http://www.epodunk.com/cgi-bin/politicalInfo.php?locIndex=3604
Impeach him.
You're being nice.
IIRC, there have been a few cases in the past where judges have flirted with ‘ordering’ a legislature to impose or raise taxes - looks like this might be the ‘test case’ that crosses that particular constitutional line....
Put the taxes on the ballot, close the schools, fire all the school employees and issue vouchers in equal sums to each student. No discrimination, give judge the finger.
Looking into this a bit more, I’m a little confused. Louisiana must do government school funding differently than Oregon. Is all the funding done at the school district level? It sounds like the issue is that some district or districts in the parish have a smaller tax base, and they want to grab money from the wealthier districts. Is that accurate?
In Oregon, there is district-level funding, but most of the money is collected and distributed to districts by the state, as a result of voter-approved property tax limitations. There is also an equalization formula for the state funds, which makes disparities between districts less of an issue (the disparity in funding/taxation for homeschooling and private schooling, of course, remains; homeschoolers and private school families pay the taxes, but get nothing in return).
Regardless, this judge should be impeached for imposing his will on the electoral process.
Indeed. :-)
Ah, “federal judges”, who are so prone to black-robed fever.
They strike down the will of the people regarding homosexual/lesbian marriage, immigration enforcement, and any other policy they don’t like.
And they are still “ordering” local governments to adopt their rulings by judicial fiat by forced intergration of schools, bussing young kids all over creation to suit their social engineering goals, and also to increase taxes to do so (and to pay to build more jails so they won’t be “overcrowded”.)
It’s way beyond time these prima donas in black robes were reined in. They are a clear and present danger to our republic. (Or at least what’s left of it.)
Here in Louisiana, school taxes are raised in school districts (parishes) via sales and/or property taxes. Funding also filters down from the state. This desegregation lawsuit is about 50 years old, IIRC. There are several still floating around in the state.
A federal judge in an adjoining district threatened the same thing earlier this year, but he’s since cooled off.
This one will too, after we get through with him.
The last time I saw a face like that it had a hook in its mouth.
Its beyond a federal judge’s powers. A judge has no authority to order the government to appropriate money.
He should be impeached for raw abuse of power and removed from office.
A judge can’t do that. And if Lemelle believes imposing new taxes is good for the parish, he should resign and run for the parish board on a tax increase platform.
What he is doing goes beyond a justiciable question into a political one. Under our constitutional system, each branch of the government stays out of the jurisdiction of the other branches. That’s why its called check and balance.
Something His Honor doesn’t appear to understand. A judge’s authority is not absolute.
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