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Oct. 11, 2026

Local Leaders: The Candidates #1 | Sherman Mack - 21st JDC District Attorney Candidate

Local Leaders: The Candidates #1 | Sherman Mack - 21st JDC District Attorney Candidate
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Season 1

In this episode Jim Chapman sits down with Sherman Mack, a candidate for the 21st Judicial District Attorney in Livingston Parish, about his background growing up in Holden, his education at Southeastern Louisiana University, and his path into law. Sherman discusses his early legal work, his criminal litigation practice, his previous run for district attorney, and his service in the Louisiana Legislature.
Sherman also covers his legislative work on criminal justice issues, including drug laws, victim protections, the death penalty, and Louisiana’s move to unanimous juries. He shares his priorities for the district attorney’s office, including public safety, juvenile crime, parental involvement, victim communication, and reducing court backlogs through stronger screening and more trials.

You can learn more about Sherman Mack by visiting:
https://shermanmack.com

Timestamps:
03:00 From Law School to Courtroom
08:13 First Run and Legislative Rise
17:17 A District Wide Challenge
18:31 Crime, Safety, and Juvenile Issues
23:36 Victims, Respect, and Communication
25:26 Jury Law
29:07 Screening Cases and Building Trust
32:42 Tackling Court Backlogs
35:31 Why He’s Running Again

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Hey, everyone.

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Welcome back to Local Leaders of the Podcast. Happy to

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have a gentleman sitting across from me that you may

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have heard about or you may be familiar with already.

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He's been a parish guy his entire life here in

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Livingston Parish. Sherman Mack, I want to welcome you to

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Local Leaders.

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Thank you very much. Thanks for having me this morning.

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Excited to have you on.

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You are obviously a candidate for the 21st Judicial District Attorney.

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Yes, sir.

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And you have a lot that kind of led you

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to this decision, so we want to get into that.

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And for those that may not be familiar, I want

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to kind of start off, you were born and raised

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here in Livingston?

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Okay, tell me about that.

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Yeah, I'm originally from the Holden area.

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Yeah.

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You know, my dad is from Holden. My mother was

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originally from Springfield. She ended up graduating from Hammond High,

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but she's originally from Springfield in the Blood River area, so.

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I'm about as Livingston as Livingston can get.

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Yeah, you definitely are.

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I went to Holden School, K-12.

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Okay.

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It's a very small school.

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Yeah.

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But, you know, I got a lot out of it.

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And ended up getting a scholarship to play basketball.

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Come on.

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At Southeastern. Yeah, and I'm not but 5'9.

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You must have been a guard.

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Yeah, I was a point guard.

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Yeah. And I got a scholarship to play basketball at Southeastern.

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That got me out to Hammond.

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Wow.

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And did that for a year, but met my wife

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and decided– It was either basketball or her, and I

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chose her.

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Yep, yep.

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So after my freshman year, I quit playing basketball, concentrated

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on my studies. Yeah. And then eventually went to law school,

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and that's kind of where my career headed. A lot

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of people wanted me to be a ball coach.

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Yeah.

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Most of my guidance counselors, my high school principal, Paula Green,

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really wanted me to coach ball. And I thought about

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it really, really hard. But at the end of the day,

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I just felt like that, you know, Law was where

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I wanted to go. I was always very competitive. And

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if you're going to be in a profession, the legal

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profession is one of the most competitive you can get. Yes.

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And so I tried to take whatever I learned in

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my athletic career and work ethic and setting goals and

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getting out of something which put into it and put

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that in my legal career. But I did get an

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opportunity to coach. I coached junior high basketball for a

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few years at St. Joseph Catholic School. Oh, yeah. In

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Pontchartier where my son went to school. Um, and, um,

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and coach, you know, some area youth leagues in Albany

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and Holden and Ponchatoula. So I've got to do that too.

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So I've kind of got to do both, but, um,

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the law is what direction I went.

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I'm glad I did.

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So you do, you go to law school and where

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did you go?

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I went to Southern University Law Center.

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Okay. Very good. A lot of people, a lot of lawyers.

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I know a lot of lawyers for whatever. I love

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my lawyers.

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And, uh, and a lot of them went to Southern, uh,

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that university was good for me.

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And, and, um, uh, I learned the law, I passed

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the bar. Um, you know, I commuted every day. Yeah.

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And so I did not live in Baton Rouge. I

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actually commuted every day, which was okay.

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I mean, I enjoyed it.

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Um, it kind of gave me that hour to wind

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down the way home from school and kind of think

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about what I need to do for the next day.

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But, um, yeah, that's true.

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I got a lot out of it and enjoyed the

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Southern university. It, It did a lot for me.

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So you get out of law school and boom, now

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you're an attorney. And what was your, you know, attorneys

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typically have specialties, right? So the personal injury or defense

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or you name it. What, did you go to work

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for someone else initially and then strike out on your own?

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My story is.

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Kind of a unique one.

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I get out of law school and, you know, you

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get out of law school and you learn the law.

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but you don't know the practical part of it. What

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I mean by that is the actual application of it. Right.

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A law school doesn't really teach you a lot of courtroom, um, skills.

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Right. And a lot of lawyers never walk into a courtroom.

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I would say probably, you know, you got a hundred

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lawyers in a room, 70 of them may have never

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walked to the courtroom. They do business law or they

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do banking law or they close real estate loans and,

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and things like that. Um, There's lawyers and there's litigators.

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Sure.

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And so I wanted to be a litigator.

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And so what happened was I got a job as

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a law clerk here at the 21st Judicial District Court,

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which is Livingston-St. Lee Intangible Parish, and I worked for

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the judges. And I can tell you I learned more

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in the year that I law clerked for our local

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judges than I did the whole three years I was

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in law school. Not only did I learn more application

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of the law, but I learned what to do and

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what not to do in the courtroom. And no matter

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what I do in my career, that was a– probably

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the best experience that I had as far as getting

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me ready to be an attorney. And so, uh, but I'm,

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I'm up there at the courthouse and everybody asked me

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what I was going to do after my BART results

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came back. And I always just said, I'm going home

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to practice law. My goal was always to go where

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I was from and open a law practice. And probably

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90% of the people that I told that to, I said,

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I'm going to Albany up law practice because Albany is right. Sure. Yeah.

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And they looked at me like I was crazy. They

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really would.

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I had very few that go, oh, that's a good idea.

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I did have some, you know, but not many. And

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what happened was.

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And it was small back then. Even Albany was, you know,

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very small.

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But there weren't any lawyers on the east side of

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Lewiston Parish back then. And I saw an opportunity. And

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so what happened was I was still at the judge's chambers.

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I was quitting my job. My wife was pregnant with

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my second child. uh, chase, uh, we were building our

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first home and I was renovating a very small office

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in Albany that I just purchased myself and I'm not

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a carpenter.

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Right.

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And so I went back and forth to Lowe's a lot.

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And so, um, I was doing all that at the

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same time. And so I really, um, wanted to be

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a prosecutor back then. And I interviewed for, you know,

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a prosecutor position. I didn't get it and that's okay.

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God opens one door and closes another. Sure. Our closes

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one door and opens another, I should say. And, um,

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I got into criminal litigation. I went to work for

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the public defender's office on a part-time basis, one week

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a month while I opened my private practice, October 1st, 2000.

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And I ended up winning the first six jury trials,

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criminal jury trials that I tried.

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Oh, wow. That's a big deal. Yes.

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And it got out there. And so after winning that

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many trials, I was able to eventually leave the public

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defender's office, even on that part-time basis and Just built

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that law practice from there and got to be in

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that criminal litigation field. But now my law practice, I

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like to call it a very large small-town practice. We

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have done probably 30% of our practice is criminal litigation.

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The other 30% is just representing families. My law practice,

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if we represent you for one thing, we pretty much

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represent you for everything. So if you have a secession

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and your parents pass away, then we're going to do

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that for you.

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Yeah.

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If you're buying some land, you know, you need a

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closing done, we'll do that for you too. Um, if

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you have a domestic issue with your wife or your,

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one of your kids, we'll do that too.

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I mean, uh, so we pretty much, we, we, we

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do it all there.

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Yeah.

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And, um, so, you know, I have six lawyers that

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work for me. Uh, it started out with one lawyer

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and a part-time.

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Wow.

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So we have the largest law firm in Livingston parish

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located in Albany, Louisiana.

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Yeah.

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So God's been really, really good to me and I'm

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a blessed guy, but.

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Uh, getting to your point, you know, um, For 25 years,

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or a little over 25 years now, that's what I've done.

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And I'm very proud of that law practice.

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Love the law, huh?

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Well, you know, I'm passionate about helping people.

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Yeah.

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Now, look, you help your client. The other side might

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get upset with you. But at the end of the day,

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if you have two really good lawyers, and I stress that,

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two good lawyers. Right. and they're on both sides of

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the table, then they're going to work well together to

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get both of their clients where they need to be.

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And I was told this very early on in my

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law practice, and that if both clients leave the table unhappy,

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you probably got a pretty good.

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Sum of them.

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If everything works out for one side over the other,

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it's supposed to kind of even out, and that's generally

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the way it's supposed to be.

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And that's generally the way it is.

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So you get two good lawyers that work together, then

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they're going to represent their clients well. And they might

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not Tell them what they want to hear, but they

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tell them the truth, and it works out eventually the

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way it's supposed to.

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Very, very interesting.

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And, you know, at some point, you decide you're going

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to make a run in the political realm, and you

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run for legislature.

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Well, what happened was, in 2008, I ran for district attorney.

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Yeah? I did.

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Okay.

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I ran for district attorney.

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I was very young. Mm-hmm.

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Really inexperienced in the political world. I just thought people run.

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It's a different world.

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Unless you do it yourself, you have no idea.

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And I mean that in all sincerity.

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People look at it from the outside in. You have

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no idea what it's like until you actually put your

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name on the line and you do it yourself. But

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I ran for DA in 08 and came close, but

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we didn't get there.

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And that's okay. I don't think God intended.

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Me to be DA in 08. Obviously, he didn't. And

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be honest with me, I don't think I was ready

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to be DA in 2008. I was young back then,

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and I think experience is the best education. But a

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few years after that, they redrew the legislative districts. Every

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10 years, you know, in the census code, they redraw them.

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And they created a seat. They actually moved it from

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the New Orleans area and moved it to the North Shore.

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House District 95 was a new seat. And I looked

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at where they had drawn those lines and my results

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when I ran for DA, and I had Carried all

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the boxes in that area where I was basically from.

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Sure.

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And so I thought about it long and hard. I said,

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00:09:37.779 --> 00:09:41.159
you know, this may be the direction God wants me

241
00:09:41.179 --> 00:09:44.139
to go. And so I ran for the legislature in

242
00:09:44.139 --> 00:09:49.279
2011 and was elected. I saw the east, north side

243
00:09:49.299 --> 00:09:53.220
of Livingston Parish and did that for 12 years. I

244
00:09:53.299 --> 00:09:55.960
enjoyed the legislature. There were days I left there that

245
00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:58.799
I felt like, okay, my vote today improved the lives

246
00:09:58.870 --> 00:10:00.639
of mass numbers of people. That's a pretty good feeling.

247
00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:01.960
Yeah, I can imagine.

248
00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:05.399
And, you know, it gives you a lot of unique experience,

249
00:10:05.500 --> 00:10:09.029
I think, when you go from one side of the

250
00:10:09.049 --> 00:10:11.129
law to actually writing the law.

251
00:10:11.529 --> 00:10:11.809
Yes.

252
00:10:11.950 --> 00:10:15.350
I mean, you're seeing both sides of court room in

253
00:10:15.370 --> 00:10:15.710
that case.

254
00:10:16.090 --> 00:10:19.110
If you would have asked me, probably... 10 years ago,

255
00:10:19.129 --> 00:10:21.070
I probably would have told you I was going to

256
00:10:21.110 --> 00:10:23.350
stay in the legislature. I would have eventually run for

257
00:10:23.370 --> 00:10:25.809
state senator or just something like that. But what happened

258
00:10:25.850 --> 00:10:29.620
was is that my first term, you know, when you're

259
00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:31.740
a freshman in the legislature, you interview with the speaker.

260
00:10:31.759 --> 00:10:34.679
You have what's called committee assignments. Everyone has to serve

261
00:10:34.720 --> 00:10:37.720
on a committee. Legislation has to go to committee before

262
00:10:37.740 --> 00:10:39.929
it ever goes to the House floor.

263
00:10:39.970 --> 00:10:40.529
Sure.

264
00:10:41.509 --> 00:10:43.909
And when I was talking to him, kind of like

265
00:10:43.950 --> 00:10:47.570
me and you were talking, And about my criminal litigation experience.

266
00:10:47.590 --> 00:10:48.840
Kind of telling my story. Well, you put me on

267
00:10:48.860 --> 00:10:49.820
the Criminal Justice Committee.

268
00:10:50.159 --> 00:10:50.419
Yeah.

269
00:10:50.919 --> 00:10:52.659
And I did that my first term.

270
00:10:52.980 --> 00:10:56.500
And I guess people, my fellow legislators, saw something in

271
00:10:56.539 --> 00:10:59.600
me as far as leadership in that role. And I

272
00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:03.669
was appointed my second term chairman of the House Criminal

273
00:11:03.690 --> 00:11:05.269
Justice Committee. Wow. Which is one of the top criminal

274
00:11:05.309 --> 00:11:08.009
justice positions in the entire state. Sure. And it was

275
00:11:08.110 --> 00:11:11.230
unique in that most chairmen are only selected in their

276
00:11:11.269 --> 00:11:13.570
third term. Right. I was put in leadership my second.

277
00:11:14.980 --> 00:11:17.240
So that gave me an opportunity to work.

278
00:11:17.100 --> 00:11:19.980
With prosecutors across the state, district attorneys across the state,

279
00:11:20.019 --> 00:11:23.919
the attorney general, to actually, you know, they came to

280
00:11:23.960 --> 00:11:26.840
me to write new laws to fix loopholes in drug

281
00:11:26.879 --> 00:11:28.769
enforcement laws, which is pretty much what I did just

282
00:11:28.789 --> 00:11:29.389
about every year.

283
00:11:29.809 --> 00:11:30.289
Yeah.

284
00:11:30.490 --> 00:11:32.610
And then create new laws to protect the elderly or

285
00:11:32.870 --> 00:11:36.549
protect victims from abuse, to keep violent offenders, you know, incarcerated.

286
00:11:37.830 --> 00:11:39.190
Two of the biggest things I did when I was

287
00:11:39.230 --> 00:11:41.230
chairman of the criminal justice, I worked with Jeff Landry,

288
00:11:41.250 --> 00:11:42.549
who was the attorney general at the time. There was

289
00:11:42.590 --> 00:11:44.470
a push to do away with the death penalty.

290
00:11:44.820 --> 00:11:45.379
Yeah.

291
00:11:45.759 --> 00:11:48.539
And we had some special committee meetings and we kept

292
00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:50.340
the death penalty in Louisiana. I helped him do that.

293
00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:50.750
Yeah.

294
00:11:51.330 --> 00:11:52.809
And then we kept New Orleans would be declared a

295
00:11:52.830 --> 00:11:55.090
sanctuary city. I led the fight on that. A lot

296
00:11:55.110 --> 00:11:57.190
of people said, well, how does that really affect the

297
00:11:57.210 --> 00:11:58.990
North Shore Livingston Parish?

298
00:11:59.009 --> 00:12:00.269
It would affect a lot. Sure.

299
00:12:00.450 --> 00:12:02.269
If New Orleans would have been declared a sanctuary city.

300
00:12:02.529 --> 00:12:02.730
Yeah.

301
00:12:02.789 --> 00:12:04.950
It would affect the whole state. So those are two

302
00:12:05.009 --> 00:12:06.809
things that I'm proud of as well.

303
00:12:07.070 --> 00:12:07.269
Yeah.

304
00:12:07.389 --> 00:12:11.580
And Jeff Landry, definitely known for being, you know, I'm

305
00:12:11.799 --> 00:12:14.350
a fan of his crime stance and He was a

306
00:12:14.389 --> 00:12:18.090
great attorney. He's no nonsense when it comes to that.

307
00:12:18.169 --> 00:12:20.490
And so it's, it's interesting to know you were involved

308
00:12:20.529 --> 00:12:23.330
in some of that and, and helping with that.

309
00:12:23.490 --> 00:12:25.450
Governor Landry and I actually became friends. Yeah.

310
00:12:26.190 --> 00:12:28.710
He was the attorney general. I was the chairman of

311
00:12:28.730 --> 00:12:30.570
the house criminal justice committee and we worked together.

312
00:12:30.870 --> 00:12:31.070
Sure.

313
00:12:31.289 --> 00:12:33.129
And you know, we did, we did some good things.

314
00:12:33.409 --> 00:12:34.460
Yeah, definitely.

315
00:12:34.629 --> 00:12:38.820
So you served those 12 years, you get out and,

316
00:12:39.549 --> 00:12:42.590
And you go back to, is it Mack Law Firm,

317
00:12:42.629 --> 00:12:46.480
your practice? Mack Law Firm in Auburn, Louisiana. And rocking

318
00:12:46.500 --> 00:12:51.159
and rolling over there. And then District Attorney Scott Perlew

319
00:12:51.220 --> 00:12:55.980
decides he's not running for another term. And you announce

320
00:12:56.259 --> 00:12:57.480
you're running for District Attorney.

321
00:12:57.500 --> 00:12:58.240
Yeah, there were a lot.

322
00:12:58.340 --> 00:13:01.120
At the end of my legislative term, you have what's

323
00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:02.919
called term limits in the legislature. And I believe in

324
00:13:02.940 --> 00:13:04.200
term limits. Sure.

325
00:13:04.320 --> 00:13:05.980
I had done my 12 years and termed out.

326
00:13:06.120 --> 00:13:09.389
And the Republican Party that I'm a part of really–

327
00:13:09.549 --> 00:13:11.830
recruited me, they wanted me to run for state Senate.

328
00:13:13.649 --> 00:13:16.240
And I thought about it, but I just felt like

329
00:13:16.980 --> 00:13:19.159
I'd originally wanted to be a prosecutor in my career.

330
00:13:19.940 --> 00:13:22.960
I'd ran for DNO8. It was something that I just

331
00:13:23.120 --> 00:13:23.779
wanted to do.

332
00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:27.240
And I felt like with my skill set, that was

333
00:13:27.860 --> 00:13:30.379
what I needed to do to contribute to my community.

334
00:13:30.539 --> 00:13:33.019
And so I did not run for state Senate. I

335
00:13:33.059 --> 00:13:35.860
did not think it was fair for me to tell constituents,

336
00:13:35.919 --> 00:13:37.799
elect me your state Senator. But by the way, in

337
00:13:37.840 --> 00:13:40.250
two years, I'm going to go run for this other position.

338
00:13:40.309 --> 00:13:42.470
I just didn't think it was right. And so that's

339
00:13:42.490 --> 00:13:44.620
why I didn't run for state Senate and, uh, and

340
00:13:44.669 --> 00:13:46.340
came back with the, with the goal to run for

341
00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:50.080
DA if Mr. Paraloo decided to retire and he did. And, um,

342
00:13:50.279 --> 00:13:51.700
I decided I wouldn't run for DA.

343
00:13:52.100 --> 00:13:55.980
Yeah. And, uh, uh, totally, totally different.

344
00:13:56.080 --> 00:13:58.879
As you said, you know, it's a political position and

345
00:13:59.179 --> 00:14:00.340
politics can get ugly.

346
00:14:00.500 --> 00:14:01.419
We all know that.

347
00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:06.440
Uh, and so that's something that I think it's very important,

348
00:14:06.460 --> 00:14:09.620
especially in a podcast form that you know, to sit

349
00:14:09.659 --> 00:14:13.960
down and talk to these candidates and learn what they

350
00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:16.370
actually say and what they actually think and don't go

351
00:14:16.470 --> 00:14:19.909
off of rumor and innuendo that's out there in Facebook land,

352
00:14:19.950 --> 00:14:20.690
for example.

353
00:14:20.909 --> 00:14:22.190
Right.

354
00:14:22.649 --> 00:14:25.269
And let me say this, and I mean this not

355
00:14:25.309 --> 00:14:28.409
only from my perspective, from my opponent's perspective and anyone

356
00:14:28.450 --> 00:14:31.809
running for office. If you are going to vote for

357
00:14:31.929 --> 00:14:35.830
anyone based on what you read off social media, you're

358
00:14:35.850 --> 00:14:36.909
making a big mistake.

359
00:14:37.009 --> 00:14:39.220
Yeah. You know, if you're not, I'll tell you this,

360
00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:40.379
if you're not going.

361
00:14:40.279 --> 00:14:43.059
To vote for my opponent off of something you read

362
00:14:43.080 --> 00:14:45.419
on social media, you need to reconsider that. And I'm

363
00:14:45.450 --> 00:14:48.570
speaking of my opponent, you know, if you're not going

364
00:14:48.590 --> 00:14:50.309
to vote for me based on something you're not reading

365
00:14:50.330 --> 00:14:53.549
on social media, you're making a mistake. You know, there

366
00:14:53.610 --> 00:14:56.250
is so much, um, I mean, look at it in

367
00:14:56.269 --> 00:14:59.350
our national politics, you know, with president Trump and, and

368
00:14:59.389 --> 00:15:03.399
all these different things. It's just, it really has social media, um,

369
00:15:05.409 --> 00:15:07.389
I don't want to say it's changed the game because

370
00:15:07.429 --> 00:15:09.610
I still believe people are smarter than that. But I

371
00:15:09.669 --> 00:15:13.549
think what happens is people who try to utilize social

372
00:15:13.570 --> 00:15:16.110
media to get elected, they're.

373
00:15:15.970 --> 00:15:17.409
Banking on people are not very smart.

374
00:15:17.950 --> 00:15:18.309
They are.

375
00:15:18.730 --> 00:15:20.289
They are. They're banking on that. And I have to

376
00:15:20.330 --> 00:15:24.129
believe that people are smart. Yeah. I have to believe that.

377
00:15:24.350 --> 00:15:27.649
And because we stopped believing that, then we're definitely going

378
00:15:27.669 --> 00:15:29.590
down the wrong road. So I think people bank on

379
00:15:29.629 --> 00:15:31.549
people not being smart enough to see through things and

380
00:15:32.179 --> 00:15:33.940
I'm going to bank on people being smart enough to

381
00:15:33.960 --> 00:15:34.559
see through things.

382
00:15:34.679 --> 00:15:37.070
I think every candidate should. I'm speaking for both sides.

383
00:15:37.110 --> 00:15:40.009
I mean, look, there are people on there that may

384
00:15:40.070 --> 00:15:42.669
say not so good things about my opponent, and most

385
00:15:42.710 --> 00:15:43.250
of it's not true.

386
00:15:46.570 --> 00:15:48.669
I tell people all the time, be an educated voter.

387
00:15:49.320 --> 00:15:52.860
Yeah. Educate yourself on their policy. If it's a local election.

388
00:15:53.019 --> 00:15:55.080
I mean, look, it's on your national basis. I mean,

389
00:15:55.100 --> 00:15:56.279
I don't think you pick up the phone and call

390
00:15:56.299 --> 00:15:57.870
Donald Trump. I mean, that's probably kind of hard to

391
00:15:57.879 --> 00:16:02.250
get him on the phone. But I will say that

392
00:16:02.789 --> 00:16:05.750
I've been in the legislature for 12 years. I've been

393
00:16:05.889 --> 00:16:08.309
around a lot of people who've run for office and

394
00:16:08.330 --> 00:16:09.090
been successful.

395
00:16:11.009 --> 00:16:13.889
If you really got a question, call them. Yeah. I

396
00:16:13.929 --> 00:16:16.490
don't know of any. There's not anybody out there.

397
00:16:16.879 --> 00:16:19.700
Whether they're for me or not for me or believe

398
00:16:19.720 --> 00:16:22.559
in what we're doing versus what my opponent's position is.

399
00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:25.740
I think if you called my opponent, you called me

400
00:16:25.779 --> 00:16:27.919
and you really said, look, I got some questions, you know,

401
00:16:28.419 --> 00:16:29.740
about your platform. Can I ask them?

402
00:16:30.559 --> 00:16:32.460
I think both of us would say yes. Yeah. And

403
00:16:32.480 --> 00:16:33.679
would enjoy talking to you.

404
00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:34.100
Sure.

405
00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:37.210
Whether you earn that vote or not, you know, enjoy talking.

406
00:16:37.250 --> 00:16:39.070
Because that's really what it's about. I mean, if you're

407
00:16:39.639 --> 00:16:42.730
seeking an elected position, there are two things you have

408
00:16:42.769 --> 00:16:44.690
to do. You have to have respect and communication. You

409
00:16:44.710 --> 00:16:45.769
have to have those two skills.

410
00:16:46.049 --> 00:16:48.559
Yeah. And even respect people who aren't necessarily for you.

411
00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:49.580
Absolutely.

412
00:16:49.740 --> 00:16:52.740
That's a great way to put it. And I do

413
00:16:52.820 --> 00:16:56.539
see you going out and you're doing, you're everywhere. I mean,

414
00:16:56.740 --> 00:16:57.740
town halls, left, right.

415
00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.220
And that's a good thing.

416
00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:05.680
Because from a voter perspective out there, voters, you have

417
00:17:05.740 --> 00:17:10.440
plenty of opportunity to ask questions to any candidates for

418
00:17:10.609 --> 00:17:15.410
any race. They're all out there. They're normal human beings.

419
00:17:15.630 --> 00:17:18.660
Love to talk to you. So let's talk about, so

420
00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:23.819
the 21st Judicial is not just Livingston Parish. Let's talk about,

421
00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:27.460
this encompasses a pretty wide range.

422
00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.819
It's very large. There's about a little over a quarter

423
00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:31.319
million people.

424
00:17:31.660 --> 00:17:32.240
Yeah, wow.

425
00:17:32.339 --> 00:17:34.960
And so I would get people actually over the years

426
00:17:35.019 --> 00:17:36.720
that would come into the office and they'd say, well,

427
00:17:36.740 --> 00:17:38.960
I tried to call the DA and he won't call

428
00:17:38.980 --> 00:17:42.000
me back. And I get that. I mean, you want

429
00:17:42.019 --> 00:17:45.779
to be called back. But then I also think about, okay,

430
00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:49.779
there's 250,000 people that live in this district. If 1% calls,

431
00:17:50.380 --> 00:17:55.170
that's 2,500 people. Yeah. It's kind of hard to return 2,500 calls. Now,

432
00:17:55.730 --> 00:17:58.269
that would be a goal that someone does reach out

433
00:17:58.289 --> 00:17:58.869
to this person.

434
00:17:59.210 --> 00:17:59.750
But we have a.

435
00:17:59.829 --> 00:18:02.170
Very large judicial district.

436
00:18:02.369 --> 00:18:02.569
Sure.

437
00:18:02.849 --> 00:18:04.269
And so one of the goals that I would be

438
00:18:04.329 --> 00:18:09.390
to try to set up some type of communication process,

439
00:18:09.470 --> 00:18:12.549
actually hire a communication team. for people who do call

440
00:18:12.630 --> 00:18:14.069
in so that we can get back to you.

441
00:18:14.369 --> 00:18:15.079
Yeah. Wow.

442
00:18:15.119 --> 00:18:16.490
And I think because in this day and age, that's

443
00:18:16.519 --> 00:18:18.500
what a lot of private companies do. I mean, they

444
00:18:18.519 --> 00:18:24.059
actually hire people to return calls or, you know, to assistance.

445
00:18:24.119 --> 00:18:27.160
And I think, you know, with a large judicial district

446
00:18:27.180 --> 00:18:29.180
like this, that's what you pretty much got to have

447
00:18:29.220 --> 00:18:29.559
as well.

448
00:18:29.920 --> 00:18:30.599
Absolutely.

449
00:18:32.119 --> 00:18:34.180
So you're running for district attorney and there was a

450
00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:38.140
choice there. I mean, this is something, look, in my opinion,

451
00:18:38.180 --> 00:18:39.890
it's the most important race on that ballot.

452
00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:41.240
Bar none.

453
00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:41.660
Yes.

454
00:18:41.839 --> 00:18:42.400
Bar none.

455
00:18:42.619 --> 00:18:46.819
And people know I do a lot with crime-related topics

456
00:18:46.940 --> 00:18:51.180
on many of the podcasts I do. And I feel

457
00:18:51.500 --> 00:18:57.640
relatively safe in Livingston Parish, considering, you know, our neighbors

458
00:18:58.339 --> 00:19:03.440
in this way across the Amy Bridge. And I'm not

459
00:19:03.460 --> 00:19:05.819
throwing– I think, you know, I think they're doing everything

460
00:19:05.839 --> 00:19:09.220
they can. But we don't have knock-on wood.

461
00:19:09.099 --> 00:19:10.079
Those issues here.

462
00:19:10.980 --> 00:19:14.390
And so that's something I would like to see maintained.

463
00:19:14.529 --> 00:19:16.890
Well, that's the biggest, you know, people ask me about,

464
00:19:17.029 --> 00:19:19.849
you know, Sherman, what is the most prevalent thing as

465
00:19:19.890 --> 00:19:22.769
far as criminal justice for Livingston Parish?

466
00:19:22.809 --> 00:19:23.769
And I believe you're right.

467
00:19:23.890 --> 00:19:28.369
I think it is, you know, maintaining what we have

468
00:19:28.509 --> 00:19:30.990
in the safety that we enjoy here in Livingston Parish.

469
00:19:31.009 --> 00:19:33.829
And we have problems, don't misunderstand what I'm saying. There's

470
00:19:33.869 --> 00:19:37.150
pockets where we have drug-related offenses and burglaries and things

471
00:19:37.190 --> 00:19:40.200
like that. But for the most part, I think that

472
00:19:40.380 --> 00:19:42.240
you need a strong district attorney who says, look, if

473
00:19:42.269 --> 00:19:46.109
you cross over that parish line and you come over

474
00:19:46.130 --> 00:19:49.269
and commit the offenses that's being attributed to East Baton

475
00:19:49.309 --> 00:19:51.470
Rouge Parish, there's going to be a penalty for that.

476
00:19:51.509 --> 00:19:53.210
There's going to be a consequence for that. I agree

477
00:19:53.230 --> 00:19:53.430
with that.

478
00:19:53.450 --> 00:19:54.599
And you have to send that message.

479
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:57.480
Yeah. And if you don't, then we're going to be

480
00:19:57.500 --> 00:19:59.319
heading in the wrong direction. That's what I intend to do.

481
00:19:59.539 --> 00:20:00.000
That's right.

482
00:20:00.059 --> 00:20:03.160
And the fastest growing parish here in Livingston in the

483
00:20:03.220 --> 00:20:03.720
state of Louisiana.

484
00:20:03.740 --> 00:20:04.220
People are moving to.

485
00:20:04.220 --> 00:20:05.019
Livingston for a reason.

486
00:20:05.220 --> 00:20:07.980
Yep. It's a really great place to live. Like I said,

487
00:20:08.000 --> 00:20:09.359
I was born and raised here.

488
00:20:09.660 --> 00:20:09.819
Yeah.

489
00:20:10.220 --> 00:20:14.430
And people move here to raise their families, to feel safe,

490
00:20:14.470 --> 00:20:17.769
to educate their children. A lot of people that live,

491
00:20:17.789 --> 00:20:19.710
especially on the west side of Livingston Parish, they don't

492
00:20:19.970 --> 00:20:22.609
work here, but they live here. And they're raising their

493
00:20:22.630 --> 00:20:24.170
families here for a reason. And we need to make

494
00:20:24.210 --> 00:20:27.779
sure that they feel safe and they feel protected. And

495
00:20:27.799 --> 00:20:28.500
that's what we're going to do.

496
00:20:28.740 --> 00:20:33.240
The juvenile crime has increased over the years. I'm a

497
00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:35.960
big believer in the family unit. And I think the

498
00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.039
destruction of the family unit contributes to crime.

499
00:20:40.069 --> 00:20:41.089
For these juveniles.

500
00:20:41.130 --> 00:20:41.809
No question. Yeah.

501
00:20:42.130 --> 00:20:46.190
You look at the stats and one parent households is

502
00:20:46.289 --> 00:20:50.599
the vast majority of these cases. As district attorney, is

503
00:20:50.650 --> 00:20:53.240
that something you're going to take very serious as these juveniles?

504
00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:54.619
Absolutely.

505
00:20:54.779 --> 00:20:57.160
And what we have to do is, you know, if

506
00:20:57.180 --> 00:21:00.380
you have a juvenile who's committed an offense, the parents

507
00:21:00.500 --> 00:21:04.180
have to be involved. And as district attorney, I think

508
00:21:04.220 --> 00:21:06.660
you have to kind of mandate it. You know, look,

509
00:21:06.700 --> 00:21:10.789
if you're not doing what you're supposed to do for

510
00:21:10.809 --> 00:21:13.250
your child, we have to have some parental responsibility, and

511
00:21:13.269 --> 00:21:16.029
there may be consequences if you don't exercise that responsibility,

512
00:21:16.849 --> 00:21:19.049
provide that responsibility to your child. So I think there

513
00:21:19.089 --> 00:21:20.309
are some things that we can do at the district

514
00:21:20.329 --> 00:21:23.210
attorney's office as far as truancy laws, making sure that

515
00:21:23.390 --> 00:21:25.069
parents are sending their kids to school, making sure their

516
00:21:25.089 --> 00:21:27.849
children are fed, making sure they're clothed, making sure that

517
00:21:28.450 --> 00:21:32.789
they participate. Because the number one problem with juvenile crime

518
00:21:32.950 --> 00:21:37.430
is you don't have two parents in the home anymore.

519
00:21:38.549 --> 00:21:41.509
You may have a father who's not overly present. You've

520
00:21:41.529 --> 00:21:44.410
got moms working two or three jobs or vice versa.

521
00:21:45.150 --> 00:21:49.819
And it's hard for mom to have that guidance over

522
00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:52.220
a child if she's not there and she's working. She's

523
00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:55.619
trying to pay the rent and provide food. So we

524
00:21:55.640 --> 00:21:57.359
just got back to social media. So we have social

525
00:21:57.400 --> 00:22:01.450
media raising these kids. They don't know how to communicate.

526
00:22:02.109 --> 00:22:03.930
Social media is the second problem, I will tell you that.

527
00:22:04.450 --> 00:22:06.829
Because what happens with social media and young people that

528
00:22:06.869 --> 00:22:11.130
I've seen, especially in the last 10 years is they're

529
00:22:11.150 --> 00:22:13.430
looking at their phones and they're, they're using their thumbs

530
00:22:13.789 --> 00:22:15.369
every day, but they're not looking in your eye and

531
00:22:15.410 --> 00:22:15.930
talking to you.

532
00:22:16.210 --> 00:22:16.450
Yeah.

533
00:22:16.930 --> 00:22:19.019
And so when adversity comes up in their lives and

534
00:22:19.079 --> 00:22:21.279
everyone has some type of adversity they have to deal with,

535
00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:23.759
they're not handling it. Sure. Because they never had had

536
00:22:23.779 --> 00:22:25.339
to face to face with person. They've always had a

537
00:22:25.359 --> 00:22:27.559
keyboard to keyboard to person and that's not a good

538
00:22:27.599 --> 00:22:30.019
way to go. So it's district attorney as well. And

539
00:22:30.039 --> 00:22:32.119
I've done a lot of research on this and in

540
00:22:32.140 --> 00:22:35.759
the legislature learned a lot about it. We're actually going to,

541
00:22:36.609 --> 00:22:40.279
do things to educate people about the dangers of social

542
00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:43.910
media and how it can affect people's mental health, not

543
00:22:43.930 --> 00:22:46.539
only on an adult level, on a juvenile level as well.

544
00:22:47.099 --> 00:22:49.380
If you asked me 10 years ago what the number

545
00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:52.099
one cause of crime was, I would have told you

546
00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:53.859
the nucleus would be poverty.

547
00:22:54.220 --> 00:22:54.440
Yeah.

548
00:22:54.920 --> 00:22:55.660
You know, really.

549
00:22:55.839 --> 00:22:56.000
Yeah.

550
00:22:56.019 --> 00:22:57.720
Because poverty leads to lack of education.

551
00:22:57.740 --> 00:23:00.059
You know, you're on a poverty basis, then you're not

552
00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:02.519
going to, you know, you don't tend to go to school,

553
00:23:02.539 --> 00:23:04.279
you don't tend to get educated, you really feel there's

554
00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.200
no hope and you're just kind of stuck in this whirlwind.

555
00:23:06.460 --> 00:23:07.220
A hundred percent.

556
00:23:07.240 --> 00:23:08.559
So if you ask me that 10 years ago, I'll

557
00:23:08.579 --> 00:23:09.940
tell you that was the answer today. I'll tell you

558
00:23:09.960 --> 00:23:10.460
social media.

559
00:23:10.829 --> 00:23:11.009
Yeah.

560
00:23:11.029 --> 00:23:13.730
Because people are filling that void with social media and

561
00:23:13.930 --> 00:23:18.049
it is allowing people to live in a world that

562
00:23:18.210 --> 00:23:21.309
really doesn't exist. I agree. So you don't, you're living

563
00:23:21.329 --> 00:23:22.910
in this world that doesn't exist. So when you do

564
00:23:22.950 --> 00:23:25.289
have to deal with problems in the real world, you

565
00:23:25.309 --> 00:23:26.029
don't know how to do it.

566
00:23:26.309 --> 00:23:26.529
Right.

567
00:23:26.849 --> 00:23:28.369
And usually if you don't know how to do something,

568
00:23:28.390 --> 00:23:30.670
you screw up and you screw up in the criminal

569
00:23:30.690 --> 00:23:32.740
justice system. Yeah. So we've got to, we've got to

570
00:23:32.759 --> 00:23:34.319
try to work on that too. Not only the district

571
00:23:34.339 --> 00:23:35.680
attorney's office, that society as well.

572
00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:40.319
As far as plea agreements, is it important to you

573
00:23:40.480 --> 00:23:45.990
that the victims or victims' families are notified of plea

574
00:23:46.029 --> 00:23:49.029
agreements before they're put on the table? Of course, the

575
00:23:49.650 --> 00:23:52.970
ultimate decision is in the district attorney's hand, but it's

576
00:23:53.130 --> 00:23:54.829
one thing to at least.

577
00:23:54.769 --> 00:23:56.529
Notify the victims' families.

578
00:23:57.089 --> 00:23:57.789
Oh, absolutely.

579
00:23:58.049 --> 00:23:59.609
And say this is what we have to do and

580
00:23:59.630 --> 00:24:00.230
this is why.

581
00:24:00.250 --> 00:24:03.309
It goes back to when we started talking about respect

582
00:24:03.369 --> 00:24:07.109
and communication. Yeah. You know, even, you know, my law practice,

583
00:24:07.210 --> 00:24:09.930
I've had to tell people things they did not want

584
00:24:09.970 --> 00:24:10.190
to hear.

585
00:24:10.730 --> 00:24:10.930
Sure.

586
00:24:11.109 --> 00:24:13.970
You know, generally, you know, there are three people you

587
00:24:14.009 --> 00:24:15.690
go see when you're in trouble. Your lawyer, your preacher,

588
00:24:15.710 --> 00:24:20.130
and your doctor. Usually when you make an appointment with

589
00:24:20.150 --> 00:24:22.009
one of those three people, things might not be so good.

590
00:24:22.029 --> 00:24:22.789
That's right.

591
00:24:22.809 --> 00:24:23.670
So I've had to.

592
00:24:23.650 --> 00:24:27.029
Have some hard conversations with clients and tell them things that,

593
00:24:27.869 --> 00:24:30.480
wasn't pleasant and they didn't want to hear.

594
00:24:30.960 --> 00:24:32.410
Um, and, but you just have to do it.

595
00:24:32.740 --> 00:24:35.740
You know, I think that that, I think that victims,

596
00:24:36.400 --> 00:24:38.819
I think, you know, if there is a complaint and

597
00:24:38.839 --> 00:24:41.460
I'm talking about our district, our district office, I'm just

598
00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:44.029
talking about in general across the country. I think that

599
00:24:44.089 --> 00:24:45.650
if there's a complaint is that, you know, well.

600
00:24:45.730 --> 00:24:48.089
I didn't know that was going to happen.

601
00:24:48.289 --> 00:24:48.569
Yeah.

602
00:24:48.670 --> 00:24:51.390
You know, I found out after the fact, well, look,

603
00:24:51.549 --> 00:24:53.690
you know, if you have to have a hard conversation

604
00:24:53.710 --> 00:24:55.190
with a victim and say, look, you know, this is

605
00:24:55.230 --> 00:24:57.819
the posture of the case. This is, The evidence is

606
00:24:57.839 --> 00:24:59.680
strong here, but it's not so strong there, and this

607
00:24:59.720 --> 00:25:01.240
is what we have to do, or this is what

608
00:25:01.279 --> 00:25:03.900
I feel the best direction to get to promulgate justice.

609
00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:06.609
Then you just have that conversation with them, and you

610
00:25:06.650 --> 00:25:12.250
answer their questions. I think people just want to be respected.

611
00:25:12.289 --> 00:25:14.750
I think victims, they want to be heard. They want

612
00:25:14.789 --> 00:25:16.269
a voice. They want an input, but they want to

613
00:25:16.309 --> 00:25:19.529
be respected. I think that's the way we're going to

614
00:25:19.549 --> 00:25:21.150
do it. If I'm your DA, that's what I'm going

615
00:25:21.170 --> 00:25:23.289
to do. I may not always agree with what your

616
00:25:23.329 --> 00:25:25.880
position is, but I'm going to respect it. I learned

617
00:25:25.890 --> 00:25:28.109
that in the legislature. I mean, you know, just because

618
00:25:28.609 --> 00:25:30.369
there were a lot of times, and I don't mind

619
00:25:30.410 --> 00:25:32.630
telling the story if you want to hear it. One

620
00:25:32.650 --> 00:25:37.690
of the proudest days or proudest things that I did

621
00:25:37.710 --> 00:25:41.670
in the legislature started from something that I was on

622
00:25:41.690 --> 00:25:45.019
the opposite end of. When I was the criminal justice chair,

623
00:25:46.180 --> 00:25:48.900
we were one, Louisiana was one of two states that

624
00:25:48.920 --> 00:25:54.609
did not have what's called unanimous jury. 48 states. Said, look,

625
00:25:54.670 --> 00:25:57.369
if you're going to try someone and take their liberty

626
00:25:57.430 --> 00:25:59.650
from you, then 12 people have to find beyond a

627
00:25:59.670 --> 00:26:00.849
reasonable doubt that you're guilty.

628
00:26:01.069 --> 00:26:01.789
Sure.

629
00:26:01.789 --> 00:26:02.690
48 states did it that way.

630
00:26:02.880 --> 00:26:03.079
Yeah.

631
00:26:03.470 --> 00:26:08.230
Louisiana and Oregon were the two that did not. And

632
00:26:08.390 --> 00:26:11.700
so there was a bill that started in the Senate.

633
00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:15.339
It was called the Unanimous Jury Bill. And it was

634
00:26:15.400 --> 00:26:18.660
going to make Louisiana a unanimous jury state along with

635
00:26:18.680 --> 00:26:22.900
the other 48 states the way they had been doing it.

636
00:26:24.269 --> 00:26:26.589
And I had DAs from across the state call me

637
00:26:26.950 --> 00:26:28.509
and say, Sherman, do not let that bill out of

638
00:26:28.549 --> 00:26:28.890
your committee.

639
00:26:30.769 --> 00:26:31.269
Don't do that.

640
00:26:31.490 --> 00:26:34.200
And I placated them. I said, well, I'm working with you,

641
00:26:34.210 --> 00:26:36.089
and I want to be DA one day maybe, and

642
00:26:36.710 --> 00:26:38.690
I get it. And okay, we won't let it out

643
00:26:38.710 --> 00:26:42.690
of committee. And I was in the House chamber one day,

644
00:26:43.210 --> 00:26:46.630
and the senator who had the bill walked across the

645
00:26:46.650 --> 00:26:51.259
chamber to the House side, and he handed me a packet.

646
00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:53.759
And he said, look, I know you're probably going to

647
00:26:53.779 --> 00:26:58.900
kill this bill next week. Because community chairmen can do that.

648
00:26:59.480 --> 00:27:02.099
They pretty much decide what bills get out and what

649
00:27:02.119 --> 00:27:02.799
bills don't.

650
00:27:03.140 --> 00:27:03.920
Sure.

651
00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:05.480
For the most part.

652
00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:09.500
And I handed it to him. He said, would you

653
00:27:09.539 --> 00:27:10.740
just read this stuff over the weekend?

654
00:27:11.819 --> 00:27:13.680
And I placated him. I said, okay.

655
00:27:13.700 --> 00:27:15.529
And I took the stuff and brought it home and

656
00:27:15.549 --> 00:27:19.319
set it on my counter and Watch TV. And, you know,

657
00:27:19.380 --> 00:27:22.140
one Sunday afternoon, I was watching TV, and I guess

658
00:27:22.160 --> 00:27:24.670
there wasn't nothing really going on, and that packet was

659
00:27:24.710 --> 00:27:26.950
on the counter. And so I opened it up, and

660
00:27:26.970 --> 00:27:33.329
I read it, and I learned that the unanimous, the

661
00:27:33.490 --> 00:27:36.210
un-unanimous jury law in Louisiana was a Jim Crow law.

662
00:27:36.910 --> 00:27:41.009
It started back in the 1860s after the Civil War,

663
00:27:41.029 --> 00:27:42.130
and that's exactly what it was.

664
00:27:42.960 --> 00:27:43.599
Wow.

665
00:27:44.039 --> 00:27:48.339
And after researching it and looking at other states and

666
00:27:48.359 --> 00:27:50.119
what they were doing and why they did it in

667
00:27:50.380 --> 00:27:53.740
their universities, you know, it got to me. It was

668
00:27:53.809 --> 00:27:58.589
the right thing to do to promulgate justice. So I

669
00:27:58.630 --> 00:28:03.170
get back to the legislature the following Monday and the

670
00:28:03.210 --> 00:28:05.910
senator walks across and says, well, did you read my stuff?

671
00:28:06.529 --> 00:28:09.680
I said, yeah, I read it. Okay, well, I appreciate

672
00:28:09.720 --> 00:28:11.900
you doing it. So did you want to hear the rest?

673
00:28:11.960 --> 00:28:14.200
And he said, well, what's that? And I said, your

674
00:28:14.220 --> 00:28:16.180
bill's going to get out of committee. And I said,

675
00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:17.539
not only is it going to get out of committee,

676
00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:20.369
I'm going to handle this bill on the floor. We're

677
00:28:20.380 --> 00:28:23.650
going to move Louisiana forward because this has been a

678
00:28:23.690 --> 00:28:26.769
black eye on us for a long time. This is

679
00:28:26.789 --> 00:28:29.029
a Jim Crow law, and we've got to change this.

680
00:28:29.890 --> 00:28:30.450
And we did.

681
00:28:30.670 --> 00:28:33.859
And I will tell you that most DAs across the

682
00:28:33.880 --> 00:28:37.710
state after that legislation got passed I said, Sherman, look,

683
00:28:37.730 --> 00:28:39.769
I know I called you before, but it really was

684
00:28:39.809 --> 00:28:40.569
the right thing to do.

685
00:28:40.890 --> 00:28:41.789
Yeah, I think so.

686
00:28:41.809 --> 00:28:42.490
And it really was.

687
00:28:42.750 --> 00:28:46.190
For me, being a criminal justice leader and working with

688
00:28:46.269 --> 00:28:48.529
district attorneys and the attorney general and stuff, it.

689
00:28:48.519 --> 00:28:49.650
Was a hard decision for me.

690
00:28:50.160 --> 00:28:50.420
Sure.

691
00:28:50.460 --> 00:28:52.319
Because they really wanted me not to let that bill

692
00:28:52.339 --> 00:28:54.660
out of the committee. But it was just ultimately after

693
00:28:54.839 --> 00:28:58.339
looking at what the senator gave me and recognizing what

694
00:28:58.380 --> 00:29:00.160
it was and why it was, it was the right

695
00:29:00.220 --> 00:29:03.059
thing to do. And we have unanimous jury in Louisiana. Yeah.

696
00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:05.630
because we got that bill out of committee and we

697
00:29:05.650 --> 00:29:07.130
handled it on the floor and we got it out

698
00:29:07.150 --> 00:29:09.329
and the governor signed it. And it was the right

699
00:29:09.369 --> 00:29:11.730
thing to do. And that's ultimately the only reason I

700
00:29:11.769 --> 00:29:13.710
want to be your district attorney. I actually, to be

701
00:29:13.730 --> 00:29:20.000
honest with you, my life would be much easier at.

702
00:29:18.240 --> 00:29:18.940
54 years old.

703
00:29:19.640 --> 00:29:21.680
And I just did a couple more years and retired

704
00:29:21.720 --> 00:29:24.329
and spent time with my beautiful family. And I do

705
00:29:24.349 --> 00:29:26.990
have a beautiful family. But, you know, I just really

706
00:29:27.029 --> 00:29:29.970
believe that These are some of the things when I

707
00:29:29.990 --> 00:29:31.500
was in the legislature that led me to run for

708
00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:33.599
this job. I just want to do the right thing.

709
00:29:33.319 --> 00:29:34.190
No matter what it is.

710
00:29:34.190 --> 00:29:34.630
Yeah. Yeah.

711
00:29:34.630 --> 00:29:36.829
Well, it sounds like you did the right thing there.

712
00:29:36.829 --> 00:29:41.430
And look, that that is a huge burden for the prosecution. And, uh,

713
00:29:41.750 --> 00:29:44.029
you know, when you have to get a unanimous jury

714
00:29:44.049 --> 00:29:44.890
versus not.

715
00:29:45.490 --> 00:29:47.509
You know, you say that and it is a burden,

716
00:29:47.529 --> 00:29:49.930
but it should be, you know, if you're, if you're

717
00:29:49.970 --> 00:29:54.210
going to, um, you know, I invite that, you know,

718
00:29:55.170 --> 00:29:57.420
if I'm elected district attorney, I would invite that challenge,

719
00:29:57.619 --> 00:30:00.700
you know, um, You're supposed to prove beyond a reasonable

720
00:30:00.740 --> 00:30:04.259
doubt that someone is guilty. And if the evidence is there,

721
00:30:04.859 --> 00:30:06.599
I will tell you if you have a strong case

722
00:30:06.640 --> 00:30:09.720
from law enforcement, from the investigative agency, and you prepare

723
00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:12.400
your case the way you should prepare it, and you've

724
00:30:12.420 --> 00:30:15.150
screened it, and you believe that there's enough evidence to

725
00:30:15.200 --> 00:30:18.769
actually bring a case to trial, then while the reasonable

726
00:30:18.950 --> 00:30:24.150
doubt burden is high, it's not overly that hard to

727
00:30:24.230 --> 00:30:27.089
achieve if you brought the case for the right reason

728
00:30:27.130 --> 00:30:28.950
and if you have the evidence to support the case.

729
00:30:29.230 --> 00:30:31.140
I think a lot of the problem is, and I'm

730
00:30:31.160 --> 00:30:33.420
not criticizing anyone, but I think a lot of the

731
00:30:33.440 --> 00:30:36.539
problem is when you see these losses is that probably

732
00:30:36.559 --> 00:30:39.259
the case shouldn't have been brought to trial. There probably

733
00:30:39.299 --> 00:30:42.240
wasn't enough evidence to bring the case to trial. And

734
00:30:42.279 --> 00:30:45.500
that's what a good screening attorney does. If you're an

735
00:30:45.519 --> 00:30:47.980
assistant DA, you screen the file and you make sure

736
00:30:48.000 --> 00:30:50.460
there's enough evidence and you get back to victims and

737
00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:52.400
then you call your victims in and say, look, we've

738
00:30:52.420 --> 00:30:54.529
got a really strong case here and I believe this

739
00:30:54.680 --> 00:30:57.109
would more than likely be the outcome. You can't guarantee

740
00:30:57.130 --> 00:30:59.819
an outcome, but Or you call them in and you say, look,

741
00:31:00.480 --> 00:31:01.880
if we're going to go forward, we still have to

742
00:31:01.920 --> 00:31:05.000
do some investigating here. We've got to shore up some holes.

743
00:31:05.019 --> 00:31:05.559
Absolutely.

744
00:31:05.579 --> 00:31:07.380
And just be honest with them. I believe in open

745
00:31:07.420 --> 00:31:10.799
file discovery. I don't believe in really hiding anything. This

746
00:31:10.819 --> 00:31:13.019
is the evidence we have. Is enough to go forward, yes?

747
00:31:13.099 --> 00:31:15.480
Or if it's enough to go forward, no?

748
00:31:15.539 --> 00:31:15.720
Yeah.

749
00:31:15.779 --> 00:31:20.240
And that's why, to me, it's important that the relationship

750
00:31:20.299 --> 00:31:24.640
between law enforcement and the DA's office is strong. Because

751
00:31:24.660 --> 00:31:28.809
a lot of people don't realize that. the upfront evidence

752
00:31:28.869 --> 00:31:31.950
is all gathered by law enforcement. And when they, you know,

753
00:31:31.970 --> 00:31:34.890
when a good detective hands over his case to that

754
00:31:34.950 --> 00:31:39.250
district attorney, that district attorney's job, hopefully will be easy.

755
00:31:39.430 --> 00:31:42.190
All the evidence is there. It doesn't happen that way.

756
00:31:42.309 --> 00:31:45.059
Obviously all the time, it depends on the detective and

757
00:31:45.359 --> 00:31:49.759
how good a job they've done, but that relationship is integral.

758
00:31:50.180 --> 00:31:52.240
And it is, you know, and you need the type

759
00:31:52.279 --> 00:31:55.059
of relationship to where if an investigative agency, you know,

760
00:31:55.099 --> 00:31:57.990
has made an arrest and brings a file, then you

761
00:31:58.099 --> 00:32:02.099
need the type of relationship to respectfully tell someone, well, look,

762
00:32:02.140 --> 00:32:03.880
I need you to do a little more work on

763
00:32:03.900 --> 00:32:05.880
this case. I need you to maybe do a little

764
00:32:05.900 --> 00:32:08.920
bit more investigating here, maybe talk to this other witness

765
00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:10.319
or do something like that.

766
00:32:10.519 --> 00:32:11.619
Or vice versa.

767
00:32:11.680 --> 00:32:14.200
Law enforcement needs to be honest with the district attorney's

768
00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:17.460
office and say, look, tell us what you're looking for.

769
00:32:18.180 --> 00:32:20.099
Tell us what it is, what you need. And that's

770
00:32:20.160 --> 00:32:21.480
one of the things I plan to do at the

771
00:32:21.500 --> 00:32:24.940
DA's office. I do plan on having a dedicated screening unit.

772
00:32:25.720 --> 00:32:30.500
that has open communication to our investigative local investigative agencies. And,

773
00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:32.079
you know, we'll, we'll just have a policy on each

774
00:32:32.119 --> 00:32:35.019
offense and we'll have check boxes. And that lets law

775
00:32:35.039 --> 00:32:37.900
enforcement know what we're looking for in order for them

776
00:32:38.000 --> 00:32:40.079
to investigate and build a good case for us to

777
00:32:40.200 --> 00:32:41.000
eventually prosecute.

778
00:32:41.400 --> 00:32:41.579
Right.

779
00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:45.809
Yeah. I agree with that. Last question. Backlog. Let's talk

780
00:32:45.849 --> 00:32:48.529
about that for a second. 21st judicial. We've already talked about,

781
00:32:48.569 --> 00:32:49.490
this is a large.

782
00:32:50.470 --> 00:32:50.730
It is.

783
00:32:51.509 --> 00:32:51.890
District.

784
00:32:52.410 --> 00:32:57.529
And, you know, it's, There's a backlog there that probably

785
00:32:57.569 --> 00:33:00.069
has existed for I don't know how long. What are

786
00:33:00.130 --> 00:33:04.329
some plans maybe you see to kind of help rectify that?

787
00:33:04.589 --> 00:33:06.869
You know, some of the problem is, and again, I'm

788
00:33:06.890 --> 00:33:09.970
not saying it's anyone's fault, we have a tri-parish judicial district.

789
00:33:10.410 --> 00:33:13.079
And so our court calendar, you may have, let's say

790
00:33:13.099 --> 00:33:16.640
if you get assigned to a certain felony criminal division,

791
00:33:16.920 --> 00:33:19.579
and we have six here, you get assigned to one.

792
00:33:19.519 --> 00:33:20.099
Of those six.

793
00:33:21.140 --> 00:33:24.880
That judge is not in Livingston every week. They're in

794
00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:28.119
Livingston one week, but they may be in Tanchable Parish

795
00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:30.660
the following week. Or they may be in St. Helena

796
00:33:30.779 --> 00:33:34.700
the following week. And they may have a civil week

797
00:33:34.980 --> 00:33:38.009
one week, or a criminal week one week, and then

798
00:33:38.029 --> 00:33:40.650
a civil deal in another parish. So the calendar here

799
00:33:40.829 --> 00:33:43.990
is very, I don't want to say complicated, but it's

800
00:33:44.069 --> 00:33:48.950
not consistent. I think a lot of the public believe that, well,

801
00:33:48.970 --> 00:33:51.839
the judge is there every day. That particular judge, whether

802
00:33:51.859 --> 00:33:55.289
or not. And so now, Chairman, how do we fix that? Well,

803
00:33:55.569 --> 00:33:58.769
you know, maybe we actually, you know, create some new

804
00:33:58.809 --> 00:34:01.710
ways with the calendar. Maybe we actually have maybe a

805
00:34:01.750 --> 00:34:05.630
two-week cycle to where our criminal judges are here versus,

806
00:34:05.650 --> 00:34:09.179
you know, the one week or something like that. You know,

807
00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:12.599
I think probably the best thing you can do to

808
00:34:12.639 --> 00:34:15.659
cut down on the backlog is just try cases. Yeah.

809
00:34:15.860 --> 00:34:19.639
You know, a lot of times I think you'll see, well,

810
00:34:19.659 --> 00:34:20.460
jury duty canceled.

811
00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:21.340
Yeah.

812
00:34:21.380 --> 00:34:21.679
You know.

813
00:34:23.070 --> 00:34:29.349
The more cases you try, the criminal element are going

814
00:34:29.389 --> 00:34:32.389
to recognize that. They're going to recognize, okay, look, if

815
00:34:32.469 --> 00:34:34.690
I don't step up and take responsibility for what I

816
00:34:34.730 --> 00:34:39.570
did and try to negotiate a fair sentence or a fair.

817
00:34:41.260 --> 00:34:43.860
Outcome, then they're going to try me.

818
00:34:44.139 --> 00:34:44.360
Sure.

819
00:34:44.559 --> 00:34:46.980
And if they take me to trial, then there's probably

820
00:34:47.000 --> 00:34:49.860
going to be, and there always is, much worse consequences. Yeah.

821
00:34:50.019 --> 00:34:51.380
So I think once you send that message.

822
00:34:52.610 --> 00:34:56.309
So I think, number one, you make it a policy

823
00:34:56.349 --> 00:34:59.309
and a work ethic goal to just actually have more

824
00:34:59.329 --> 00:35:01.369
jury trials. You need to actually get in there and

825
00:35:01.869 --> 00:35:05.159
try cases as a prosecutor. And then maybe work on

826
00:35:05.199 --> 00:35:08.539
our court calendar a little bit. But again, that's going

827
00:35:08.559 --> 00:35:11.539
to take, you have the district attorney's office, you have

828
00:35:11.559 --> 00:35:13.699
the judge's chambers, you have law enforcement. We all have

829
00:35:13.719 --> 00:35:15.769
to come together to do that. So is there a

830
00:35:15.769 --> 00:35:18.869
specific answer that actually is going to solve the problem?

831
00:35:19.409 --> 00:35:20.130
I'm not there yet.

832
00:35:20.639 --> 00:35:23.639
Ask me that six months after I'm there. But I

833
00:35:23.679 --> 00:35:25.420
will tell you, I think some of the issue is

834
00:35:26.400 --> 00:35:28.199
you have to get in there and say, look, we're

835
00:35:28.219 --> 00:35:32.920
going to try cases. If we have a 14-case priority

836
00:35:32.980 --> 00:35:36.079
list during a criminal trial week, then we're looking at

837
00:35:36.119 --> 00:35:38.099
trying one of those 14 cases or maybe two of

838
00:35:38.119 --> 00:35:39.300
those 14 cases.

839
00:35:39.719 --> 00:35:40.940
A lot of judicial.

840
00:35:40.559 --> 00:35:45.429
Districts during your jury week, they're trying multiple cases that week.

841
00:35:46.349 --> 00:35:48.170
And that's hard to do. Again, I'm not there.

842
00:35:48.769 --> 00:35:51.809
And so I'm not criticizing what's going on. I'm just

843
00:35:51.829 --> 00:35:54.429
telling you what I'd like to do to make things better.

844
00:35:54.530 --> 00:35:56.489
And we are going to track cases. If I'm your

845
00:35:56.510 --> 00:35:58.889
district attorney, you will see, you will be reading about

846
00:35:58.949 --> 00:35:59.510
jury trials.

847
00:36:00.130 --> 00:36:02.289
Absolutely. Any final thoughts?

848
00:36:03.230 --> 00:36:06.750
You know, I'm running for district attorney because I just really,

849
00:36:07.130 --> 00:36:08.630
I just want to do the right thing and do

850
00:36:08.650 --> 00:36:10.630
a good job. You know, I'm not running for any

851
00:36:10.650 --> 00:36:13.570
other reason. I know there's, there's rumors out there that

852
00:36:14.210 --> 00:36:16.590
this is a stepping stone for me. It's, it's not

853
00:36:16.630 --> 00:36:20.519
a stepping stone. This is, probably, well, not probably this is,

854
00:36:21.099 --> 00:36:23.719
I'm not running for governor as some people would like

855
00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:25.559
to believe. I'm not using as a step on the

856
00:36:25.599 --> 00:36:28.800
run for governor or attorney general. That's not my plan.

857
00:36:28.820 --> 00:36:30.960
If that was my plan, I would have stayed in

858
00:36:30.980 --> 00:36:33.880
Baton Rouge. Um, my plan was really just to come

859
00:36:33.920 --> 00:36:36.860
home and, and try to contribute to my community. You know,

860
00:36:36.920 --> 00:36:38.699
I'm going to make less money and work twice as hard,

861
00:36:38.719 --> 00:36:41.900
but you know what? That's okay. Because I have been

862
00:36:41.980 --> 00:36:42.599
really blessed.

863
00:36:42.940 --> 00:36:43.179
Yeah.

864
00:36:43.619 --> 00:36:46.119
And I do believe that this is my skillset to

865
00:36:46.139 --> 00:36:48.960
give something back. And I, I bring both sides. My

866
00:36:49.380 --> 00:36:53.360
opposition has said, well, Sherman's a criminal defense attorney. He's

867
00:36:53.380 --> 00:36:56.440
a criminal litigator. And that's true. But I've worked both angles.

868
00:36:57.219 --> 00:36:59.179
When I was in the legislature, there's no one who

869
00:36:59.219 --> 00:37:03.909
worked with more prosecutors, more district attorneys, the attorney general.

870
00:37:03.929 --> 00:37:06.369
There's no one who wrote more laws, created new laws,

871
00:37:06.429 --> 00:37:10.010
fixed loopholes in laws to build stronger prosecutions. And I've

872
00:37:10.030 --> 00:37:12.269
also worked on the defense side. I've represented people who

873
00:37:12.289 --> 00:37:14.869
were truly innocent, and juries found them to be so.

874
00:37:15.690 --> 00:37:18.889
And I have represented people who had criminal exposure. And

875
00:37:19.380 --> 00:37:21.400
part of the defense attorney's job is to say, look,

876
00:37:22.159 --> 00:37:22.659
you've got some.

877
00:37:22.579 --> 00:37:24.199
Criminal exposure here. I've reviewed this.

878
00:37:24.360 --> 00:37:26.380
You need to step up and take responsibility for this.

879
00:37:26.760 --> 00:37:30.679
And let's negotiate a sentence that is just. And that's

880
00:37:30.719 --> 00:37:33.590
pretty much the role of the defense attorney and the prosecutor.

881
00:37:33.750 --> 00:37:36.809
But both sides are to promulgate justice. And I've represented victims.

882
00:37:36.949 --> 00:37:38.869
I mean, victims have came to me and hired me

883
00:37:39.829 --> 00:37:41.829
in a private capacity to guide them through the system.

884
00:37:41.929 --> 00:37:46.230
Victims of domestic violence and abuse have victims that maybe

885
00:37:46.289 --> 00:37:49.389
their home got broken into and the restitution zone and

886
00:37:49.409 --> 00:37:52.659
things like that. I come to it from all angles.

887
00:37:53.179 --> 00:37:55.280
And I think that's what you should want. You should

888
00:37:55.320 --> 00:37:59.619
want someone who's got the experience of all the angles

889
00:37:59.820 --> 00:38:01.460
in that way. Because, you know, you ever look at

890
00:38:01.559 --> 00:38:06.380
a lawyer emblem, it's that lady that's holding those scales.

891
00:38:06.659 --> 00:38:06.920
Oh, yeah.

892
00:38:06.960 --> 00:38:10.679
Right? And she's holding those scales because justice, it's balancing.

893
00:38:10.900 --> 00:38:11.019
Yep.

894
00:38:11.530 --> 00:38:12.389
And she's blindfolded.

895
00:38:12.449 --> 00:38:15.889
And she's blindfolded. And so you've got to balance it out.

896
00:38:15.929 --> 00:38:18.170
And I think I bring balance to it. I think

897
00:38:18.230 --> 00:38:22.780
I bring balance from both perspectives. And again, we just

898
00:38:22.800 --> 00:38:24.400
want to do the right thing no matter what it is.

899
00:38:24.420 --> 00:38:26.559
If the right thing to do is to put somebody away,

900
00:38:26.599 --> 00:38:28.519
then we're going to do that. If the right thing

901
00:38:28.559 --> 00:38:33.030
to do is to maybe help someone get the help

902
00:38:33.070 --> 00:38:34.869
they need consequences with help.

903
00:38:35.210 --> 00:38:35.949
Sure.

904
00:38:36.170 --> 00:38:38.090
So that they don't come back because of recidivism is

905
00:38:38.150 --> 00:38:39.110
an issue in Louisiana.

906
00:38:39.449 --> 00:38:40.250
It sure is.

907
00:38:40.289 --> 00:38:41.679
Then we're going to do that too. We're just going

908
00:38:41.699 --> 00:38:44.760
to take every case situation. We're going to treat it differently.

909
00:38:44.780 --> 00:38:46.860
We're going to treat it individually and we're just going

910
00:38:46.880 --> 00:38:48.219
to do the right thing. And that's all we really

911
00:38:48.239 --> 00:38:48.559
want to do.

912
00:38:49.119 --> 00:38:49.760
Very good.

913
00:38:49.960 --> 00:38:54.519
And November 3rd, November 3rd, early voting's October 20th through

914
00:38:54.539 --> 00:38:57.000
the 27th that week. And then the election's November 3rd.

915
00:38:57.000 --> 00:39:01.179
It's a Tuesday election. So it doesn't– all the projections

916
00:39:01.239 --> 00:39:03.199
are it will be a low turnout, which is a shame.

917
00:39:03.780 --> 00:39:04.019
Yeah.

918
00:39:04.039 --> 00:39:05.539
But it will be a low turnout because it's a

919
00:39:05.539 --> 00:39:08.960
Tuesday election. So whoever you're voting for in whatever race

920
00:39:09.300 --> 00:39:11.530
you're interested in, it's important to vote. That was a

921
00:39:11.610 --> 00:39:14.570
lot of people who sacrificed a lot to give you

922
00:39:14.610 --> 00:39:15.869
this right to vote. And there are a lot of

923
00:39:15.929 --> 00:39:19.250
people fighting today, believe it or not, to make sure

924
00:39:19.269 --> 00:39:21.230
that you still have the right to vote. I agree.

925
00:39:21.230 --> 00:39:24.530
And that you can exercise your vote. And so don't

926
00:39:24.530 --> 00:39:27.780
don't let that sacrifice be in vain. If you, if you're,

927
00:39:28.110 --> 00:39:30.719
especially if you were someone with the, and that's the

928
00:39:30.739 --> 00:39:31.659
last thing I'll say.

929
00:39:33.519 --> 00:39:34.840
Again, we go back to social media.

930
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:35.219
Yeah.

931
00:39:35.460 --> 00:39:37.960
You know, you have these people on social media, whether

932
00:39:38.019 --> 00:39:40.880
you're for me or you're for my opponent or you're

933
00:39:40.900 --> 00:39:43.280
criticizing me or you're criticizing my opponent. I'm taking up

934
00:39:43.300 --> 00:39:44.280
for both of us. Yeah.

935
00:39:44.579 --> 00:39:46.639
Um, most of them don't vote.

936
00:39:48.340 --> 00:39:50.719
If you look at statistics, uh, Most of the people

937
00:39:50.760 --> 00:39:51.940
on social media don't vote.

938
00:39:52.260 --> 00:39:53.420
Well, it's only eight people.

939
00:39:53.539 --> 00:39:57.360
It's eight people with 200 profiles.

940
00:39:57.579 --> 00:40:01.559
If you're going to, if you really want to be engaged,

941
00:40:01.619 --> 00:40:02.099
go vote.

942
00:40:02.679 --> 00:40:02.880
Yeah.

943
00:40:02.900 --> 00:40:05.139
You know, I mean, that's, if you, if you don't

944
00:40:05.179 --> 00:40:07.199
really have, I don't think you have a lot of

945
00:40:07.280 --> 00:40:11.829
room to gripe if you don't vote. I agree.

946
00:40:11.849 --> 00:40:15.409
A hundred percent. You got to get in the game to, to,

947
00:40:15.829 --> 00:40:16.409
to play it.

948
00:40:16.489 --> 00:40:18.150
And look, if you don't care, if you just want

949
00:40:18.190 --> 00:40:21.550
to live your life and, Go about it. And, you know,

950
00:40:21.690 --> 00:40:24.030
I respect that. I don't understand it, but I respect that.

951
00:40:24.380 --> 00:40:25.619
But then don't criticize. Right.

952
00:40:26.639 --> 00:40:28.440
If you're going to criticize, then you need to go

953
00:40:28.500 --> 00:40:29.320
exercise your right to vote.

954
00:40:29.539 --> 00:40:31.739
And get to know your candidates. Get to know them.

955
00:40:31.760 --> 00:40:35.119
Yeah, call them. I'm telling you, just about on every level,

956
00:40:35.239 --> 00:40:40.630
probably except President of the United States, maybe governors of

957
00:40:40.670 --> 00:40:44.989
bigger states, if you really have an issue, that you

958
00:40:45.030 --> 00:40:48.320
would like to address with a parish councilman or a

959
00:40:48.480 --> 00:40:51.380
state representative or a school board member or a district

960
00:40:51.400 --> 00:40:57.590
attorney or even governor or a congressman. I've met all

961
00:40:57.610 --> 00:41:00.369
of those people. They'll talk to you.

962
00:41:00.369 --> 00:41:00.670
100%.

963
00:41:00.670 --> 00:41:03.449
If you make the effort to say, look, and be

964
00:41:03.489 --> 00:41:06.070
persistent and make an effort to try to communicate with

965
00:41:06.090 --> 00:41:10.030
those people, they'll talk to you. Jeff Landry– If you're

966
00:41:10.070 --> 00:41:13.150
persistent enough, I've seen it. He'll talk to you. Or

967
00:41:13.170 --> 00:41:15.769
he'll have someone in his administration call you back and say,

968
00:41:15.809 --> 00:41:18.610
what is your concern? How can I answer your question?

969
00:41:19.289 --> 00:41:21.429
That's the kind of DA I want to be. I

970
00:41:21.449 --> 00:41:22.849
built my law practice on if you were willing to

971
00:41:22.889 --> 00:41:24.590
drive to Albany and sit and wait, I was willing

972
00:41:24.610 --> 00:41:25.190
to wait and listen.

973
00:41:26.449 --> 00:41:28.170
I love that.

974
00:41:28.309 --> 00:41:29.789
And I'm going to be the same way as your DA.

975
00:41:30.070 --> 00:41:31.090
Yeah, there you go.

976
00:41:31.159 --> 00:41:32.969
Well, thank you so much for coming on. It was

977
00:41:33.090 --> 00:41:36.599
great learning more about you, learning more about your campaign.

978
00:41:36.659 --> 00:41:39.000
I wish you a ton of luck. In the upcoming

979
00:41:39.059 --> 00:41:43.820
election and everybody, it is November 3rd. So show up,

980
00:41:43.900 --> 00:41:45.639
show out, and let your.

981
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Voice be heard. That's right. Super important.

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Thank you, my friend.

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Thank you.

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And until next time, I'm Jim Chapman reminding you, love

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your community, love local business, and keep leading.