SLS 19RS-45 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 106
BY SENATOR PEACOCK
COMMENDATIONS. Commends Chief Judge Felicia Toney Williams upon her ascension
to the position in the Second Circuit Court of Appeal.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To commend the Honorable Felicia Toney Williams upon her ascension to the position of
3 chief judge on the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal and to congratulate her
4 as the first female African-American jurist to do so in the second circuit.
5 WHEREAS, it is with great respect that the Legislature of Louisiana acknowledges
6 the advancement of Chief Judge Felicia Williams to this prestigious position on the appellate
7 bench in October 2018; and
8 WHEREAS, Chief Judge Williams can lay claim to several "firsts" in her life; she
9 was the first African-American woman elected to the Second Circuit Court of Appeal in
10 1993, she was then reelected in 2002 and 2012 without opposition; and her current term
11 continues until December 2022; and
12 WHEREAS, as chief judge, Felicia Toney Williams puts forth a vision statement for
13 the court to work efficiently and appropriately and to give equal weight to the disposition
14 of all cases before the bench; and
15 WHEREAS, Judge Felicia Williams holds excellent credentials as a jurist having
16 served as a judge for the Sixth Judicial District, which encompasses the parishes of Madison,
17 East Carroll, and Tensas; she was appointed to serve as an Associate Justice Pro Tempore
18 for the Louisiana Supreme Court; and she also served as an Assistant District Attorney for
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1 the Sixth Judicial District; and
2 WHEREAS, Chief Judge Williams is an individual of great intellect and insight
3 having graduated magna cum laude from Southern University with receipt of a Bachelor of
4 Arts degree, also having graduated cum laude from Southern University Law Center with
5 a Juris Doctor degree, and having been distinguished among her peers to serve as editor-in-
6 chief of the Southern University Law Review; and
7 WHEREAS, in 1994, she completed the Appellate Judges Program at New York
8 University School of Law; and
9 WHEREAS, Chief Judge Williams is active in an array of professional organizations
10 that include the American Bar Association, Louisiana State Bar Association, Shreveport Bar
11 Association, National Bar Association, Louisiana Judicial Council, National Association of
12 Women Judges, Judge Fred Fudickar Jr. American Inn of Court, and the Northeast Louisiana
13 Louis A. Martinet Legal Society; and
14 WHEREAS, with an interest in social activism, Chief Judge Williams provides
15 helpful insight to the Louisiana Task Force on Women in the Courts, the Louisiana Task
16 Force on Racial and Ethnic Bias, the Madison Parish Task Force on Education and Drug
17 Abuse, and the Madison Parish Schools Advisory Committee; and
18 WHEREAS, she holds affiliations with service organizations such as, Alpha Kappa
19 Alpha Sorority, Inc., Southern University Alumni Federation, and the Order of the Eastern
20 Star; and
21 WHEREAS, Chief Judge Williams has been honored with tributes such as: Who's
22 Who in American Law, an Honorary Member of the National Honor Society of Secondary
23 Schools; and
24 WHEREAS, Chief Judge Williams has many well-deserved accolades that include
25 receipt of the Thurgood Marshall Service Award from the American Bar Association, the
26 Distinguished Alumni Award from Southern University Law Center, the Outstanding
27 Service Award from the National Association of University Women, the Outstanding
28 Community Service Award from Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., the Silver Dollar Service
29 Award from Top Ladies of Distinction Inc., the Human & Civil Rights Trailblazer Award
30 from the Louisiana Association of Educators, and the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Award
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1 from the city of Shreveport; and
2 WHEREAS, Chief Judge Williams has also served her fellow jurists as president of
3 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals Judges Association, as chairman and vice chairman of
4 the Louisiana Supreme Court Judiciary Commission, and as chairman of the Louisiana
5 Conference of Court of Appeal Judges; and
6 WHEREAS, Chief Judge Williams is proud to have broken through the court's "glass
7 ceilings" of gender and ethnicity to faithfully serve the state on the Louisiana Second Circuit
8 Court of Appeal; and
9 WHEREAS, Chief Judge Felicia Williams exhibits the finest qualities of diligence,
10 character, perseverance, and social activism that shall be reminiscent of her tenure on the
11 bench.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
13 commend Chief Judge Felicia T. Williams for her stalwart public service to the citizenry of
14 the state of Louisiana as a jurist and for her many contributions to the effectiveness and
15 efficiency of the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
17 Honorable Felicia T. Williams, chief judge of the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Suzi Montague.
DIGEST
SCR 106 Original 2019 Regular Session Peacock
Commends Chief Judge Felicia T. Williams of the La. Second Circuit Court of Appeal.
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