WDSU NEWS HOT SEAT. I’M TRAVERS MACKEL TONIGHT. WE ARE CONTINUING OUR HOT SEAT DEBATES AND WE’RE TALKING ABOUT A BIG RACE, REALLY THE ONLY RACE ON THE BALLOT IN JEFFERSON PARISH FOR THE APRIL ELECTION CYCLE. IT’S THE RACE FOR JEFFERSON PARISH JUDGE FOR DIVISION D, THREE PEOPLE RAN IN THE PRIMARY, TWO HAVE MADE THE RUNOFF. WE HAVE INVITED BOTH CANDIDATES HERE FOR OUR FORUM. ONE OF THOSE CANDIDATES HAS CHOSEN TO ATTEND THAT CANDIDATE WHO IS HERE RIGHT NOW IS JACKIE MALONEY, A REPUBLICAN. WE DO APPRECIATE YOU COMING IN. JUST FOR FULL TRANSPARENCY. AGAIN, WE HAVE INVITED BOTH CANDIDATES. YOUR OPPONENT HAS DECIDED NOT TO ATTEND THIS FORUM. SO WE ARE GOING TO ASK YOU SOME QUESTIONS FOR VOTERS TO SEE. ABSOLUTELY. WE’RE GOING TO FOLLOW THE TRADITIONAL FORMAT AS WE HAVE WHEN WE HAVE ONE CANDIDATE WHO APPEARS ON OUR HOT SEAT. SO YOU HAVE 60S TO MAKE AN OPENING STATEMENT. MISS MALONEY, THANK YOU. WELL, FIRST, THANK YOU, TRAVIS, FOR HAVING ME HERE AGAIN. I REALLY APPRECIATE IT. MY NAME IS JACKIE MALONEY. I AM AN ATTORNEY. I’VE BEEN AN ATTORNEY FOR ALMOST 26 YEARS, AND THE FIRST 14 YEARS OF MY PRACTICE, I WAS AN ASSISTANT DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN BOTH ORLEANS AND JEFFERSON PARISH. I’VE TRIED MORE THAN 130 FELONY JURY TRIALS AS A PROSECUTOR. AND IN THE LAST 12 YEARS, WHILE I OPENED MY OWN PRIVATE PRACTICE 12 YEARS AGO IN ORDER TO GET WHAT I THOUGHT WAS THE NECESSARY EXPERIENCE TO BECOME A CANDIDATE FOR THIS SEAT, BECAUSE IN JEFFERSON PARISH, THE COURT HEARS CIVIL, DOMESTIC AND CRIMINAL. SO AT THE END OF MY PROSECUTION CAREER, I OPENED MY OWN LAW FIRM. AND SINCE THAT TIME I HAVE PRACTICED CIVIL AND DOMESTIC LAW AND TRIED HUNDREDS OF CIVIL AND DOMESTIC CASES. I AM THE ONLY CANDIDATE IN THIS RACE THAT HAS TRIED A CASE. THANK YOU FOR COMING IN UNDER 60S SPEAKING OF THAT, YOUR OPPONENT IS LINDSAY VALENTI. SHE WORKED FOR THE SHERIFF. I THINK SHE’S ON THE LEAVE RIGHT NOW WHILE SHE RUNS FOR THIS, BUT SHE HAS WORKED FOR THE SHERIFF FOR A VERY LONG TIME. UH, JOE LOPINTO, WHO HAS ENDORSED HER THINGS. HAVE GOTTEN A BIT NASTY ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL RIGHT NOW, WITH YOU ALL TAKING SHOTS AT EACH OTHER. SOMETHING CAME UP RECENTLY WHERE THE STATE SUPREME COURT TOOK SOME ACTION AGAINST AN AD THAT YOU RAN, ESSENTIALLY SAYING, I GUESS IT WAS IT WAS MISLEADING OR THEY HAD FALSE INFORMATION. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS WHAT THE SUPREME COURT DID WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR CAMPAIGN AND AN AD AGAINST YOUR OPPONENT, I ABSOLUTELY WOULD THANK YOU FOR ASKING ME THAT. IN THE PRIMARY, MY OPPONENT, LINDSAY VALENTI, SENT OUT A MAIL PIECE THAT SAID THAT I HAD BEEN PREVIOUSLY ACCUSED OF PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT AND HIDING EVIDENCE, WHICH WAS ABSOLUTELY FALSE AND A FABRICATION. I HAVE NEVER BEEN ACCUSED OF ANYTHING LIKE THAT. I’VE NEVER EVEN HAD A BAR COMPLAINT MADE AGAINST ME IN MY ENTIRE CAREER. SO THE SUPREME COURT CREATED A COMMITTEE IN ORDER TO HANDLE ISSUES AND JUDGE CASES. SO I CONTACTED THEM AND I EXPLAINED TO THEM WHAT HAPPENED, AND I SENT THEM THE PIECE THAT SHE HAD SENT OUT. THEY CONTACTED MISS VALENTI AND SHE AGREED. MISS VALENTI AGREED THAT SHE WOULD NO LONGER SAY THESE THINGS BECAUSE THEY ARE FALSE. THEN I SENT A MAILER OUT TO TELL VOTERS WHAT HAPPENED AND TO EXPLAIN TO THEM THAT WHAT MISS VALENTI SAID WAS NOT TRUE. THE ISSUE THAT I RAN INTO IS THAT ON MY FLIER, WHERE I COPIED THE LETTER THAT I WAS SENT BY THE SUPREME COURT’S COMMITTEE, I WROTE THE SUPREME COURT INTERVENED AND WHAT THEY FOUND TROUBLESOME ABOUT THAT, APPARENTLY, IS THAT I DIDN’T SAY SUPREME COURT COMMITTEE, BUT I WANT THE VOTERS TO KNOW THAT THAT EVERYTHING ON THE FLIER WAS ACCURATE. MISS VALENTI ACCUSED ME OF SOMETHING THAT I HAD NEVER BEEN ACCUSED OF BEFORE. I CONTACTED THE SUPREME COURT’S COMMITTEE. IT’S A COMMITTEE THAT’S CREATED AND AUTHORIZED BY THE SUPREME COURT. AND THE ENTIRE TIME THAT I’M DEALING WITH THIS ISSUE, I WAS DEALING WITH MAUREEN LABORDE, WHO’S AN ATTORNEY FOR THE SUPREME COURT, WHO CONTINUALLY SENT ME EMAILS WITH THAT EMAIL SIGNATURE. AND THE DAY THAT THEY SENT ME THE PUBLIC STATEMENT THAT THEY ISSUED AGAINST ME, MISS LABORDE CHANGED HER SIGNATURE BLOCK FROM MAUREEN LABORDE, STAFF ATTORNEY, SUPREME COURT, TO MAUREEN LABORDE, STAFF ATTORNEY FOR THE COMMITTEE. SO MY ISSUE WAS THAT I DIDN’T USE THE WORD COMMITTEE. AND JUST FOR FULL TRANSPARENCY, WE DID INVITE MISS VALENTI TO ATTEND. LET’S TALK ABOUT ANOTHER ISSUE HERE THAT DEALS WITH WITH YOU AND YOUR OPPONENT. BEFORE WE GET TO SOME ISSUES WITH WITH YOU, POSSIBLY BEING A JUDGE AND WHAT YOUR PLATFORM WOULD BE SURE ENDORSED, IT’S PEOPLE MAKE THEM DURING THE ELECTION SEASON, SHE HAS PICKED UP THE SHERIFF, THE PARISH PRESIDENT AND THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY IN JEFFERSON PARISH. WHY DO YOU THINK THEY ENDORSED HER AND NOT YOU IN THIS RACE? I DON’T KNOW, I CAN’T SPEAK FOR THEM. I KNOW THAT I’M VERY DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE EXPERIENCE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING FOR A JUDGE TO HAVE BEFORE THEY TAKE THE BENCH AND PRESIDE OVER THESE INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT MATTERS. AND MISS VALENTI HAS VIRTUALLY NO COURTROOM EXPERIENCE. LIKE I SAID EARLIER, SHE’S NEVER TRIED A CASE. SHE’S NEVER TRIED A JURY TRIAL. I, I, I AM NOT SURE WHY THEY ENDORSED HER. I KNOW SHE COMES FROM A VERY POLITICAL FAMILY. I DON’T I GREW UP MY DAD WAS A TV REPAIRMAN MY WHOLE LIFE, SO I THINK SHE AND I HAVE VERY DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS AND I DON’T KNOW HOW MUCH THOSE CONNECTIONS PLAYED INTO THOSE ENDORSEMENTS. LET’S TALK ABOUT THE JUDGE SEAT IN JEFFERSON PARISH IN JEFFERSON PARISH, JUST FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THIS, JUDGES DO CRIMINAL AND CIVIL CASES. YOU DO BOTH. HOW WOULD YOU MANAGE THAT DOCKET BETWEEN CRIMINAL AND CIVIL IF YOU ARE ELECTED TO THE BENCH IN JEFFERSON PARISH, WOULD YOU HAVE CERTAIN DAYS THAT YOU DO CRIMINAL OR CIVIL, OR HOW WOULD YOU BREAK IT UP JUST TO GIVE PEOPLE A SNAPSHOT OF HOW YOU WOULD OPERATE? SURE. ABOUT 60, I SAY 60S, I KNOW YOU’RE THE ONLY CANDIDATE HERE TODAY OR THIS AFTERNOON, BUT YOU HAVE ABOUT 60S. SURE. WELL, IT’S ACTUALLY A SHORT ANSWER. I WOULD DO WEEK ON, WEEK OFF, CIVIL AND CRIMINAL. THAT’S HOW MOST OF THE JUDGES DO IT NOW. AND I THINK THAT’S A VERY EFFICIENT AND EFFECTIVE SCHEDULE. I DO THINK THAT I WOULD SCHEDULE, UH, URGENT MATTERS MAYBE ON THEIR OFF WEEK JUST TO MAKE SURE THOSE PEOPLE AND THOSE LITIGANTS CAN GET IN AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. BUT GENERALLY IT’S GOING TO BE WEEK ON, WEEK OFF. HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE THIS IS ANOTHER QUESTION THAT COMES UP WHEN WE ASK A LOT OF JUDGE CANDIDATES QUESTIONS, BECAUSE I KNOW YOU ARE BARRED FROM ANSWERING, JUST LIKE EVERYBODY RUNNING FOR JUDGE. THERE ARE JUDICIAL CANDIDATES, AND THERE ARE THINGS THAT YOU CAN’T REALLY SPECULATE ON. BUT IF YOU ARE ELECTED TO THE BENCH, HOW WOULD YOU GO ABOUT HANDLING FIRST DEGREE MURDER CASES IN JEFFERSON PARISH? BECAUSE THERE IS ANOTHER LAYER THERE BECAUSE IT’S DEATH ELIGIBLE. AND A LOT OF PEOPLE FEEL THAT THE PROCESS TAKES A LONG TIME. IF YOU WERE ELECTED, HOW WOULD YOU HANDLE FIRST DEGREE CASES? WELL, I’D FOLLOW THE LAW. YOU KNOW, I’M THE ONLY CANDIDATE THAT’S EVER TRIED A CAPITAL CASE. I’VE TRIED SEVERAL, ACTUALLY, AND I THINK THAT IT’S VERY IT IS. I CAN’T STRESS TO THE VOTERS ENOUGH HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO HAVE A JUDGE WHO HAS THAT TYPE OF EXPERIENCE, BECAUSE IF YOU MAKE ONE MISTAKE IN A CASE LIKE THAT, THAT CASE WILL COME BACK ON APPEAL AND COST THE VOTERS EVEN MORE MONEY. AND CAUSE THE LITIGANTS AND THE VICTIM’S FAMILY JUST SUCH, IT RETRAUMATIZES THEM. SO HOW WOULD I HANDLE THEM? I WOULD FOLLOW THE LAW. WHAT IS YOUR PLAN IF ELECTED FOR NEW TECHNOLOGY ON THE BENCH? I ASKED YOU THIS BEFORE. I THINK LAST TIME WHEN WE RAN, UM, EVERYBODY GOT FAMILIAR WITH ZOOM IN THE COVID 19 PANDEMIC, WOULD YOU STILL ALLOW PEOPLE TO APPEAR ZOOM? WOULD THAT BE AN ISSUE FOR YOU? HOW WOULD YOU INCORPORATE NEW 2024 TECHNOLOGY IF YOU’RE ELECTED TO THE BENCH? SO I THINK THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN TYPES OF HEARINGS THAT CAN BE HANDLED BY ZOOM VERY EASILY. PRETRIAL HEARINGS, UM, MOTIONS ON CERTAIN ISSUES, LIKE WHETHER OR NOT A CASE SHOULD BE CONTINUED, IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE A TRIAL GOING, THE LITIGANTS AND THE ATTORNEYS NEED TO BE THERE, BECAUSE WHEN YOU PRESENT AND I’VE DONE THIS BEFORE, WHEN YOU TRY TO PRESENT EVIDENCE THROUGH ZOOM, THAT’S THAT’S A LITTLE CHALLENGING. AND I THINK THOSE CASES AND THOSE HEARINGS NEED TO BE HEARD IN COURT. BUT I HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH ZOOM. I THINK IT’S VERY EFFICIENT. AND I’VE LIKED IT AS A AS A PRACTITIONER. WE ASKED ALL JUDICIAL CANDIDATES THIS, UM, WHAT IS YOUR STANCE IN ABOUT 60S ON CAMERAS IN THE COURTROOM? I’LL GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE HERE. HERE IN ORLEANS PARISH JOSEPH WASHINGTON, A MAN WHO PLED GUILTY JUST RECENTLY. ACTUALLY, IT HAPPENED TODAY. HE PLED GUILTY TO KILLING HIS THREE KIDS, SETTING A HOUSE FIRE. UM, THERE WAS AN OUTBREAK IN THE COURTROOM, BUT ALSO PEOPLE WANT TO SEE WHAT HE IS DOING IN THE COURTROOM. WHAT IS YOUR STANCE ABOUT 60S ON ALLOWING CAMERAS IN THE COURTROOM? I KNOW IT’S STATE LAW, BUT JUST TO GIVE PEOPLE A SNAPSHOT OF WHERE YOU THINK ON THAT, BECAUSE WE’RE ONE OF LIKE, I THINK IT’S LIKE 6 OR 8 STATES NOW THAT DON’T ALLOW CAMERAS IN THE COURTROOM. I WOULD PERSONALLY HAVE NO PROBLEM WITH IT. I THINK VOTERS SHOULD KNOW WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE COURTS. SO, YOU KNOW, I UNDERSTAND WHAT THE LAW IS, BUT I WOULD HAVE NO ISSUE WITH IT. AND I THINK I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING. I THINK IT WOULD BE A GOOD THING AS WELL. HOPEFULLY WE CAN GET LAWS CHANGED HERE IN LOUISIANA BECAUSE I THINK THAT PEOPLE, PEOPLE WATCHING THIS RIGHT NOW WANT TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS IN A COURTROOM. SO HERE’S HERE’S ANOTHER QUESTION THAT’S COME UP ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. YOU ARE A PROSECUTOR FOR A VERY LONG TIME. YOU NOW DO CRIMINAL DEFENSE WORK. YOU HAVE REPRESENTED PEOPLE WHO ARE CHARGED WITH SERIOUS CRIMES. WHEN WE WERE HERE LAST TIME, ONE OF YOUR OPPONENTS QUESTIONED THAT, SAYING, HEY, YOU KNOW, WHILE WHILE MY OPPONENT CLAIMS SHE WAS A PROSECUTOR THE LAST DECADE HAS BEEN SPENT AS A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN JEFFERSON PARISH, HOW DO YOU ANSWER THOSE CRITICISMS OF SOMEBODY WHO SAYS YOU HAVE BEEN A CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR A LONG TIME, AS WELL? WELL, ACTUALLY, THAT’S NOT TRUE. UM, SO SO WHEN I LEFT THE DA’S OFFICE, MY INTENTION WAS TO DO PRIMARILY CIVIL AND DOMESTIC WORK, AND THAT’S WHAT I HAVE DONE. I’VE REPRESENTED PROBABLY A FEW THOUSAND CIVIL AND DOMESTIC LITIGANTS, AND I’VE MAYBE HANDLED OVER THE LAST 12 YEARS, 20 TO 25 CRIMINAL CASES. IN EACH OF THOSE CASES, I EITHER FELT PARTICULARLY STRONGLY ABOUT WHAT THE PERSON WAS CHARGED WITH, THAT THEY SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN CHARGED WITH THAT. I WANTED TO HELP THAT PARTICULAR PERSON, OR I DIDN’T AGREE WITH WHAT THE STATE CHARGED THEM WITH. SO I WAS I’VE BEEN VERY SELECTIVE ABOUT WHAT CRIMINAL CASES I’VE TAKEN, BUT EVERY SINGLE CASE I’VE TAKEN, I BELIEVED IN AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN. FINAL QUESTION HERE ARE ONE OF THE FINAL QUESTIONS HERE. BEFORE WE LET YOU DO A CLOSING STATEMENT AND WRAP UP HERE HOW WOULD YOU WORK WITH ATTORNEYS IN THE COURTROOM? OBVIOUSLY, THE JUDGE ESSENTIALLY IS THE PERSON WHO HAS TO PRESIDE OVER THIS, BUT THERE THERE IS A LOT OF INFIGHTING. SOMETIMES PROSECUTORS ARE THERE TO CONVICT PEOPLE. DEFENSE LAWYERS ARE THERE TO DEFEND HIM. HOW WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO WORK WITH PROSECUTORS AND DEFENSE LAWYERS TO KEEP EVERYTHING CIVIL IN A COURTROOM, BECAUSE IT FEELS LIKE THE THE WORLD WE LIVE IN NOW, EVERYTHING IS SO CONTENTIOUS, EVERYTHING IS CONTENTIOUS. BUT THE COURTROOM SHOULD NOT BE CONTENTIOUS. EVERYONE SHOULD BE CALM. EVERYONE SHOULD BE BE ALLOWED TO PRESENT THEIR CASE, MAKE THEIR ARGUMENTS WITHOUT THE OTHER SIDE YELLING OVER THEM. I WOULD NOT ALLOW THAT IN THE COURTROOM, EVERYBODY GETS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD. AND THEN I’LL RULE FAIRLY ON OBJECTIONS AND MAKE FAIR EVIDENTIARY RULINGS. ALL RIGHT. WE CAN KEEP ASKING QUESTIONS AS WE DO. APPRECIATE YOU COMING IN, MISS MALONEY. ONCE AGAIN, FULL TRANSPARENCY. WE DID INVITE BOTH CANDIDATES. YOU WERE THE ONLY ONE WHO TOOK US UP ON OUR INVITATION. YOU HAVE 60S TO MAKE A CLOSING STATEMENT AND LET VOTERS KNOW. SO ON THIS ELECTION THAT’S COMING UP EARLY, VOTING STARTS, UH, VERY SOON. HERE IT DOES. YES, BUT WHEN WHEN? ELECTION DAY COMES UP IN LATE APRIL, YOU CAN LET PEOPLE KNOW WHY YOU FEEL YOU’RE THE BEST CANDIDATE IN 60S. THANK YOU. TRAVIS, I APPRECIATE THAT. I AM THE ONLY CANDIDATE IN THIS RACE THAT HAS EVER BEEN A PROSECUTOR, HAS EVER TRIED A CASE, HAS EVER PICKED A JURY. THIS EXPERIENCE IS CRITICALLY IMPORTANT, URGENT AND NECESSARY IN ORDER TO BE AN EFFECTIVE TRIAL JUDGE. I’M ASKING FOR YOUR VOTE AS THE MOST EXPERIENCED CANDIDATE AND THE PERSON WHO WILL BE FAIR AND IMPARTIAL IN EVERY SINGLE CASE, WITH EVERY SINGLE LITIGANT THAT COMES BEFORE ME. THE ELECTION IS APRIL 27TH. I EXPECT THAT VOTER TURNOUT IS GOING TO BE LOW, SO I’D ASK YOU TO PLEASE GET TO THE POLLS AND VOTE NUMBER 167 FOR JACKIE MALONEY. EARLY VOTING STARTS SATURDAY, WHICH IS GOING TO BE THE 13TH. YES. YEAH, YEAH, THE 13TH AND RUNS FROM THE 13TH THROUGH THE 20TH. SO IF YOU’RE BUSY ON THE 27TH BECAUSE YOU’RE GOING TO JAZZ FEST, PLEASE GET OUT AND EARLY VOTE. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT JACKIE MALONEY, WE APPRECIATE YOUR TIME. THANK YOU FOR COMING IN. THAT’S ALL THE TIME THAT WE HAVE FOR THE HOT SEAT. I’M TRAVERS MACKEL YOU CAN SEE THIS ENTIRE SEGMENT ON OUR WEBSITE, WDSU.CO