Buddy Caldwell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 44thAttorney General of Louisiana | |
| In office January 14, 2008 – January 11, 2016 | |
| Governor | Bobby Jindal |
| Preceded by | Charles Foti |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Landry |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James David Caldwell (1946-05-20)May 20, 1946 (age 79) Columbia, Louisiana, U.S |
| Party | Democratic (before 2011) Republican (2011–present) |
| Spouse | Pat Caldwell (third wife) |
| Children | 7 (including stepchildren) |
| Alma mater | Tulane University (BA,JD) |
James David "Buddy"Caldwell Sr. (born May 20, 1946) is an American attorney and politician from thestate ofLouisiana. He served asAttorney General of Louisiana from 2008 to 2016.
Caldwelll was elected Attorney General of Louisiana elected as aDemocrat in2007, defeating RepublicanRoyal Alexander.[1] He became a member of theRepublican Party in 2011.[2][3] Prior to his party switch, he was the only Democraticstate attorney general to challenge the constitutionality of theAffordable Care Act (ACA).[4]
Caldwell was reelected in the2011 Attorney General election without opposition after his sole opponent, former U.S. RepresentativeJoseph Cao, dropped out of the race.[4]
Caldwell lost his2015 reelection bid to RepublicanJeff Landry.[5] In 2018, the interimmayor ofTallulah, Louisiana, appointed Caldwell as interimcity attorney.[6]
In 2008, the murder conviction of Angola inmateAlbert Woodfox was overturned by a federal judge. Caldwell appealed the decision to overturn Woodfox's conviction, despite significant evidence that Woodfox had not committed the crime. Woodfox speculated that Caldwell may have been using the appeal in order to gain public attention for himself as the recently appointed Attorney General of Louisiana.[7] When questioned in aninterview by NPR's Laura Sullivan about a bloody fingerprint found at the scene of the crime that was proven not to belong to Woodfox, Caldwell replied, "A fingerprint can come from anywhere."
In 2010, following theDeepwater Horizon oil spill, Caldwell directed Louisiana’s legal response and the state’s participation in the federal multidistrict litigation, MDL No. 2179, before JudgeCarl Barbier of theUnited States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.[8] A state district judge granted his office investigative authority overBP in June 2010, including access to information about the spill and BP’s claims process. Governor Bobby Jindal allocated funding from a BP block grant to the attorney general’s office to support investigation and expert work.[8]
During the structuring of MDL 2179, Caldwell objected to an initial order appointing Alabama Attorney GeneralLuther Strange as coordinating counsel for all Gulf Coast states, stating that each state should control its own sovereign claims. On January 18, 2012, Judge Barbier issued Pretrial Order No. 48, designating Caldwell as Co-Coordinating Counsel for State Interests, which formalized Louisiana’s leadership role in the litigation.[8]
Caldwell’s office pursued Louisiana’s claims for natural resource damages, economic losses and civil penalties under theOil Pollution Act of 1990 and theClean Water Act. He also petitioned theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit challenging MDL holdback orders that reserved a percentage of state recoveries to fund common-benefit legal fees.[8]
In July 2015, the United States and the fiveGulf Coast states announced a proposed global settlement with BP. The agreement was finalized in 2016 with the entry of a federal consent decree, which included signatures from both Governor Jindal and Caldwell. The settlement provided Louisiana with several billion dollars in natural resource restoration funding, economic damages and civil penalties distributed over multiple decades.[8]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forAttorney General of Louisiana 2007 | Vacant Title next held by Ike Jackson |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forAttorney General of Louisiana 2011 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Attorney General of Louisiana 2008–2016 | Succeeded by |
