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Judiciary Commission of Louisiana Announces Elected Officers and Appointees
<div align="left" style="text-align:center;"><table style="width:100%;background-color:#428bca;"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td bgcolor="#428bca" height="21" valign="middle" width="100%"><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ffffff;">2025 Press Releases</span></strong>
</div></td></tr></tbody></table><table width="16%" style="width:1112px;"><tbody><tr></tr></tbody></table></div><table style="width:100%;text-align:center;"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td width="82" style="text-align:left;width:71px;">CONTACT: </td><td width="253" style="text-align:left;width:1039px;">Trina S. Vincent<br />504-310-2590
</td></tr></tbody></table><div align="left" style="text-align:center;"><table style="width:100%;border-spacing:3px;background-color:#f7ebc6;"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td width="38%" style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#212073;text-transform:uppercase;"><strong>October 20, 2025</strong></span>
</td><td width="62%"><p align="right"><span style="color:#212073;"><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</strong></span>
</p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong></strong> </p><p style="text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase;"><strong>Judiciary Commission of Louisiana Announces Elected Officers and Appointees
</strong>
</p><p><strong>New Orelans, La. - </strong>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.
</p><p>In accordance with the Louisiana Constitution, <strong>Third Judicial District Court
Judge Bruce Hampton</strong> 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.
</p><p><strong>Third Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Sharon Darville Wilson</strong> 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.
</p><p>Selected to serve on the Judiciary Commission by the Speaker of the Louisiana
House of Representatives, <strong>Mr. Chester Cedars</strong> 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.
</p><p><strong>Mr. Mike McGlone</strong> 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.
</p><p>Selected to serve on the Judiciary Commission by Governor Jeff Landry, <strong>Mr.
John W. Sinquefield</strong> 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.
</p><p><strong>Retired Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Chet D. Traylor</strong> 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.
</p><p><strong>Retired Judge Robert Wyatt</strong> 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).
</p><p>Selected to serve on the Judiciary Commission by the Conference of Court of
Appeal Judges, <strong>Mr. D. Brennan Hussey</strong> 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.
</p><p><strong>Dr. Shondra G. Williams</strong> 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.
</p><p><strong>About the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana:</strong></p><p>The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana is a fourteen-member, constitutionally
created body that assists the Louisiana Supreme Court in matters of judicial
discipline. The Commission investigates complaints of judicial misconduct and
recommends disciplinary actions when warranted. Members are selected by the
Louisiana Supreme Court, the Louisiana District Judges Association, the
Conference of Court of Appeal Judges, the President of the Senate, the Speaker
of the House of Representatives, and the Governor. More information can be
found on the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana website at
<strong><a href="https://judiciarycommissionla.org/">https://judiciarycommissionla.org/</a></strong>
</p><p><strong>For more information visit <a href="/">lasc.org</a> or contact Louisiana
Supreme Court Deputy Judicial Administrator-Community Relations, Trina S.
Vincent at <a href="mailto:tvincent@lasc.org">tvincent@lasc.org</a>.</strong></p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>-30-</strong></p><link rel="stylesheet" href="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_picgrid.css" /><div class="picgrid"><div><p><img src="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_JCL_Chair_Third_JDC_Judge_Bruce_Hampton.jpg" alt="Third Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Hampton - Chair, Judiciary Commission of Louisiana" /><br /><span class="caption">Third Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Hampton <br />Chair<br />Judiciary Commission of Louisiana</span>
</p></div><div><p><img src="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_JCL_Vice_Chair_Third_Circuit_Cout_of_Appeal_Judge_Sharon_Darville_Wilson.jpg" alt="Third Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Sharon Darville Wilson - Vice Chair, Judiciary Commission of Louisiana" /><br /><span class="caption">Third Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Sharon Darville Wilson <br />Vice
Chair<br />Judiciary Commission of Louisiana</span>
</p></div><div><p><img src="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_JCL_LA_House_of_Rep_Appoiontee_Chester_Cedars.jpg" alt="Mr. Chester Cedars - Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, Appointee of the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives" /><br /><span class="caption">Mr. Chester Cedars<br />Judiciary Commission of Louisiana<br />Appointee of the Speaker of the
Louisiana House of Representatives</span>
</p></div><div><p><img src="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_JCL_LA_Senate_Appoiontee_Michael_McGlone.jpg" alt="Mr. Mike McGlone - Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, Appointee of the President of the Louisiana Senate" /><br /><span class="caption">Mr. Mike McGlone<br />Judiciary Commission of Louisiana<br />Appointee
of the President of the Louisiana Senate</span>
</p></div><div><p><img src="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_JCL_Governor_Appointee_John_W_Sinquefield.jpg" alt="Mr. John W. Sinquefield - Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, Appointee of the Governor" /><br /><span class="caption">Mr. John W. Sinquefield<br />Judiciary Commission of Louisiana<br />Appointee
of the Governor</span>
</p></div><div><p><img src="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_JCL_Pres_LA_Senate_Appointee_ret_Justice_Chet_D_Traylor.jpg" alt="Retired Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Chet D. Traylor - Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, Appointee of the President of the Louisiana Senate" /><br /><span class="caption">Retired Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Chet D. Traylor<br />Judiciary
Commission of Louisiana<br />Appointee of the President of the Louisiana
Senate</span>
</p></div><div><p><img src="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_JCL_LA_speaker_of_the_House_of_Rep_Appoiontee_Ret_Judge_Robert_Wyatt.jpg" alt="Retired Judge Robert Wyatt - Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, Appointee of the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives" /><br /><span class="caption">Retired Judge Robert Wyatt<br />Judiciary Commission of Louisiana<br />Appointee
of the Speaker of the Louisiana House of Representatives</span>
</p></div><div><p><img src="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_JCL_Conference_of_Court_of_Appeal_Judges_Appointee_D_Brennan_Hussey.jpg" alt="Mr. D. Brennan Hussey - Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, Appointee of the Conference of Court of Appeal Judges" /><br /><span class="caption">Mr. D. Brennan Hussey<br />Judiciary Commission of Louisiana<br />Appointee
of the Conference of Court of Appeal Judges</span>
</p></div><div><p><img src="/press_room/press_releases/2025/images/2025-12_JCL_LA_District_Judges_Assoc_Appointee_Dr_Shondra_G_Williams.jpg" alt="Dr. Shondra G. Williams - Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, Appointee of the Louisiana District Judges Association" /><br /><span class="caption">Dr. Shondra G. Williams<br />Judiciary Commission of Louisiana<br />Appointee
of the Louisiana District Judges Association</span>
</p></div></div><p> </p>