Walter May, who served as District Attorney for 18 years, has announced his plans to continue to serve the citizens of Claiborne, Bienville and Jackson Parishes. He has announced his candidacy for District Judge in the Second Judicial District.

May is running for Division A district judge. In the race for Division B district judge, Yumeaka Robinson Washington and Rick Warren have announced they are running against each other.

 “I was born and raised in Jackson Parish,” May said. “As District Attorney I worked and prosecuted cases in Claiborne, Bienville, and Jackson parishes. I worked with law enforcement, judges, and attorneys in all three parishes. Three of my six children graduated from high school in Claiborne Parish.

“My work as District Attorney was a reflection of my strong desire to serve the citizens of this area. As judge, I will continue to be consistent and fair. I pledge to you, that if elected, I will continue to treat every person with respect and dignity, just as I did as a DA, regardless of their background or station in life.”

May was elected to three terms as District Attorney for the Second Judicial District, Claiborne, Bienville and Jackson, serving for 18 years. During that time, the office set records in the number of successful cases, the number of trials, and the amount of child support collected, among other accomplishments. New, innovative programs were established that had never existed before to try and divert young people from criminal activity and to protect the rights of victims.

May has more jury trial experience and has had vastly more prosecutorial experience than any candidate for judge. As a prosecutor he tried more than 25 felony jury trials. In addition to his work as a prosecutor, he has had many civil jury trials.

May had the experience of researching and helping to draft appellate court opinions when, following law school, he was selected to serve as a law clerk for the Third Circuit Court of Appeal. He has practiced in courts all across the state of Louisiana and argued cases before the Courts of Appeal and Louisiana Supreme Court.

If elected District Judge, May said his goals include:

• Apply the law equally and consistently to all parties, regardless of their circumstances.
• Respect and follow the law as it is written. 
• Install a Drug Court to help rehabilitate drug offenders.
• Be respectful of everyone that enters the courtroom.
• Always be accessible and available to law enforcement officers at all hours of the day and night, in all three parishes for search warrants, arrest warrants and other duties required by the judge.
• Make sure the rights of victims, as well as the rights of defendants, are respected.
• Maintain an efficient courtroom that starts on time, ends on time and where a 15-minute recess means only 15 minutes. May said he strongly believes a person’s times is valuable and the court should make every effort to respect the time of each individual in court.

May also has experience outside of the legal system, experience that is important to understanding the needs and concerns of everyday families. He helped pay his way through school by working in the Gulf on crew boats and on natural gas drilling platforms. He worked in Simsboro at the glass plant and worked for the Jonesboro utility department doing everything from clearing rights of way to digging up sewer lines.

He used the GI Bill he earned serving in Iraq to go to night school at Louisiana Tech to get a Master’s Degree in Teaching.  Thereafter he taught English and social studies to junior high and high school students and coached high school basketball.

For more than four years, he taught adult education classes, helping students to complete their GED, classes which often were made up primarily of inmates from local jails. He finished his teaching career as an adjunct professor of criminal justice at Louisiana Delta Community College.

May received a commission as an Officer in the US Naval Reserve Intelligence Program and afterward was awarded credentials as a special agent in the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). After serving for 12 years and achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Naval Reserve, May transferred to the Louisiana Army National Guard.

As a Judge Advocate General (JAG) Officer in the Louisiana Army National Guard, Walter served twelve years, and achieved the rank of Major, with assignments to Honduras and Belize.

May was deployed to Iraq as a JAG officer in the U.S. Army, where he served as Officer-in-Charge of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq – Liaison Office, which  oversaw the prosecution of all crimes committed against U.S. and coalition forces within the country of Iraq. For his service in Iraq, he was awarded the Army Meritorious Service Medal.

May has announced that, if elected, he will not accept any benefits from the Judges’ Retirement System.

“If elected, I will not accept any benefits from the Judges’ Retirement System,” May said. “In fact, I have pledged to donate any and all retirement benefits from the judgeship into a scholarship fund. The fund will be for criminal justice and pre-law students from our district who attend Grambling or Louisiana Tech.”

Walter and his wife Robin have been married for 40 years and have six children and 13 grandchildren.

The whole May family was raised to place a high priority on service to their community and country. His three sons all served in the military, and were highly decorated for their service, with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. All three have served, or are serving, as law enforcement officers. His three daughters have all worked in education.

“I was born and raised in North Louisiana,” May said. “It was here that I learned core values, such as service to your community and the importance of treating everyone honestly, equally and fairly. I pledge to you, that if elected judge, I will treat every person with respect and dignity, regardless of their background or station in life. I pledge to be consistent and fair, applying the law equally.

“The Second Judicial District, Claiborne, Bienville, and Jackson parishes, is a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family because of the residents who live here. It would truly be an honor to serve as your District Judge, and I humbly ask for your vote and support.”