BATON ROUGE — Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has asked that Baton Rouge state district court judges who have sued the state be blocked from handling any case in which her office is involved.
In a press release announcing the move, Murrill said 19th Judicial District Chief Judge Don Johnson, Judge Ron Johnson and Judge Gail Horne Ray cannot fairly preside over cases involving the attorney general’s office while their suit is ongoing.
Those judges are among the plaintiffs in a federal suit filed in February related to judicial redistricting.
Murrill, who provided a motion filed in a 1997 case requesting that Don Johnson be recused, said the judges involved in the redistricting suit cannot fairly preside over any case in which she appears as a party or as an attorney.
Murrill’s office prosecutes cases in state court that originate with the attorney general’s office. It can also be asked to stp in when the district attorney’s office has to recuse itself. Most state-level civil lawsuits against the state of Louisiana are filed in the 19th Judicial District Court, which covers East Baton Rouge Parish, because it contains the state capital.
Murrill said about 100 cases are pending before the judges involved.
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