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Regular Session, 2012
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 29
BY REPRESENTATIVES LEGER, ABRAMSON, ADAMS, ANDERS, ARMES,
ARNOLD, BADON, BARRAS, BARROW, BERTHELOT, BILLIOT, STUART
BISHOP, WESLEY BISHOP, BROADWATER, BROSSETT, BROWN,
BURFORD, HENRY BURNS, TIM BURNS, BURRELL, CARMODY, CARTER,
CHAMPAGNE, CHANEY, CONNICK, COX, CROMER, DANAHAY, DIXON,
DOVE, EDWARDS, FANNIN, FOIL, FRANKLIN, GAINES, GAROFALO,
GEYMANN, GISCLAIR, GREENE, GUILLORY, GUINN, HARRIS, HARRISON,
HAVARD, HAZEL, HENRY, HENSGENS, HILL, HODGES, HOFFMANN,
HOLLIS, HONORE, HOWARD, HUNTER, HUVAL, GI ROD JACKSON,
KATRINA JACKSON, JAMES, JEFFERSON, JOHNSON, JONES, KLECKLEY,
LAMBERT, NANCY LANDRY, TERRY LANDRY, LEBAS, LEOPOLD, LIGI,
LOPINTO, LORUSSO, MACK, MILLER, MONTOUCET, MORENO, JAY
MORRIS, JIM MORRIS, NORTON, ORTEGO, PEARSON, PIERRE, PONTI,
POPE, PRICE, PUGH, PYLANT, REYNOLDS, RICHARD, RICHARDSON,
RITCHIE, ROBIDEAUX, SCHEXNAYDER, SCHRODER, SEABAUGH,
SHADOIN, SIMON, SMITH, ST. GERMAIN, TALBOT, THIBAUT, THIERRY,
THOMPSON, WHITNEY, ALFRED WILLIAMS, PATRICK WILLIAMS, AND
WILLMOTT
A RESOLUTION
To express the sincere and heartfelt condolences of the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana upon the death of Judge Joseph R. Bossetta of New Orleans,
former state representative.
WHEREAS, it is with profound regret and sorrow that the members of the House of
Representatives of the Louisiana Legislature have learned of the death of Judge Joseph R.
Bossetta on September 15, 2011, at the age of eighty-four; and
WHEREAS, Judge Joseph R. Bossetta was born in New Orleans on August 12, 1927,
and graduated from Holy Cross High School at the age of fourteen; and
WHEREAS, with World War II under way, Judge Bossetta, being the patriot that he
was, enlisted in the Marine Corps at age fifteen; as a forward observer assigned to the Fourth
Marine Division in the Pacific, Judge Bossetta directed artillery fire on Japanese forces, a
task that required him to go beyond the safety of United States lines to obtain better
coordinates for enemy positions; and
WHEREAS, during World War II, Judge Bossetta fought in such major battles as
Roi-Namur, Kwajalein, Saipan, Tinian, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa, and as a member of Task ENROLLEDHR NO. 29
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Force Thirty-One, he participated in the initial United States occupation of Japan and the
capture of the battleship, Nagato, which symbolized the surrender of the Japanese navy; and
WHEREAS, after the war, Judge Bossetta attended Loyola University and was
admitted to the bar in 1950 after apprenticing with his father, Gaspar Bossetta; and
WHEREAS, Judge Bossetta maintained a private law practice for more than fifty
years; and
WHEREAS, Judge Bossetta was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives
in 1956, where he helped draft and steer legislation that created the South's first racially
desegregated public university and New Orleans' first public university, Louisiana State
University in New Orleans, now the University of New Orleans, and Southern University
at New Orleans; and
WHEREAS, Judge Bossetta resigned from the legislature to serve his beloved city
as First Assistant District Attorney in New Orleans under Richard Dowling; he later served
as acting District Attorney; and
WHEREAS, in 1963, Governor Jimmie Davis rewarded Judge Bossetta's talent and
dedication by appointing him to a vacant seat at New Orleans' Municipal Court, where he
served until retiring in 1986; he also was appointed to sit as a temporary judge at New
Orleans' Criminal District Court; and
WHEREAS, during his time on the bench, Judge Bossetta helped to modernize
criminal justice in the city of New Orleans by instituting rehabilitation programs for
offenders addicted to alcohol and drugs and starting a clinic for battered women; and
WHEREAS, throughout his career, Judge Bossetta served the New Orleans Police
Department by donating free legislative and legal counsel to, and serving as a spokesman
for, the Fraternal Order of Police; and
WHEREAS, Judge Bossetta also served as a judge advocate in the Marine Corps
Reserve from 1976 to 1982, retiring with the rank of major, in addition to representing the
Louisiana Bar Pilots Association; and
WHEREAS, Judge Bossetta is survived by his wife, Mildred Duffy Bossetta; three
sons, Michael J., Patrick R., and Brian J. Bossetta; four daughters, Barbara L. Bossetta, Mary
Ann Bossetta, Bonnie Bossetta Lavie, and Kathleen Bossetta Levine; nineteen
grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren; and ENROLLEDHR NO. 29
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WHEREAS, with the death of Judge Bossetta, Louisiana has lost one of her finest
sons, a man whose legacy shall live forever in the tremendous impact of his legal decisions
and in the hearts and minds of the many citizens whose lives he touched with his remarkable
intellect, public service, and integrity.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby express its sincere sorrow and heartfelt condolences
upon the death of Judge Joseph R. Bossetta of New Orleans, former state representative, and
does hereby express enduring appreciation for the pride and honor he will forever bring to
the city of New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, and the United States of America.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
to the family of Judge Joseph R. Bossetta of New Orleans.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI VES