Tucker Lee Melançon | |
|---|---|
| Senior Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana | |
| Assumed office February 14, 2009 | |
| Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana | |
| In office February 11, 1994 – February 14, 2009 | |
| Appointed by | Bill Clinton |
| Preceded by | Tom Stagg |
| Succeeded by | Elizabeth Erny Foote |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Tucker Lee Melançon (1946-02-03)February 3, 1946 (age 79) Bryan, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Louisiana State University (BS) Tulane University Law School (JD) |
Tucker Lee Melançon (born February 3, 1946)[1] is aseniorUnited States district judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana.
Melancon graduated fromLouisiana State University with aBachelor of Science degree in 1968. He finished studies atTulane Law School with aJuris Doctor in 1973. He was a managing partner at Melancon & Rabalais, private practice with his colleague, Rodney M. Rabalais, inMarksville,Louisiana, from 1973 to 1993.
On the unanimous recommendation of Louisiana U.S. SenatorsJohn Breaux andBennett Johnston, Melancon was nominated by President Clinton on November 18, 1993, to a seat vacated byTom Stagg as Stagg assumed senior status. Melancon was confirmed by theUnited States Senate on February 10, 1994, and received his commission the following day. He assumed senior status on February 14, 2009, due to a certified disability.
Melancon has presided over a number of cases in his judicial tenure of fifteen years. He has heard a variety of trials, includingclass action,tax evasion,drug trafficking,cross burning, as well as issues where theFirst Amendment andClean Water Act standards were at stake or being violated. However, his legacy might be his devotion todesegregation inpublic schools in the parishes which fall under his jurisdiction;St. Landry,Evangeline, andFranklin, among others.[2][3]
He sentenced oneEvangeline Parish board member to ten days ofincarceration with three days suspension, as well as high fines forcriminal contempt (orcontempt of court) a charge to which the board member had pleaded guilty for attempting to manipulate a court-ordered employment process.[4] One fine, US $3,000, was, according to Melancon, retribution for what he said was the board member's violation of the court'sdesegregation order.[5] Melancon was cited in oneFifth Circuit decision as having been "heavy-handed" and tending towards "over management" in his dealings with the parish school boards on thedesegregation issues.[6]
In November 2009, Melancon was a visiting judge presiding over cases relating to theStaten Island ferry disaster inNew York City.[7]
Melancon was diagnosed with stage-threebreast cancer in 2003.[8] After undergoing amastectomy,radiation therapy, andchemotherapy, the cancer went intoremission but resurfaced three years later.[8] His wife, Diana Moore, helped him carve out araw foods diet they learned from the Hippocrates Health Institute inPalm Beach, Florida.[8]
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana 1994–2009 | Succeeded by |