These candidates are highlighting the power of judges to challenge mass incarceration.
In July, during a three-day period when candidates for elected office in Orleans Parish had to file their paperwork, court clerk Arthur Morrell set up a Facebook Live video feed in his office.
As each candidate ambled in, masked and holding documents, Morrell greeted them, “Hello, you are on Facebook Live, can you please introduce yourself?”
Familiar faces appeared, like an incumbent judge who was filing for re-election and an ambitious New Orleans City Council member who was running to be district attorney.
But then, a series of unexpected candidate hopefuls showed up: seven current and former public defenders who were seeking election as judges, including Derwyn Bunton, chief of the Orleans Public Defenders.
Read the full article at The Appeal.
