SLS 19RS-1072 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 143
BY SENATOR ALARIO
COMMENDAT IONS. Commends Dan Claitor for his distinguished public service
representing Senate District No. 16.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To commend the Honorable Daniel Albert Claitor, Louisiana State Senator, for his years of
3 exemplary public service in the Louisiana Legislature and to express appreciation for
4 his many contributions made on behalf of the constituents of his district and the state
5 of Louisiana, and to offer the best wishes of his fellow senators as he departs from
6 the Senate and pursues his next avenue of interest.
7 WHEREAS, Senator Claitor is blessed with a subtle smile and quick wit, being a
8 statesman and gentleman brimming with self-confidence and a mastery of the complexities
9 of the law and the legislative process; and
10 WHEREAS, he is well-known in the legislature for always being prepared and
11 inquisitive, and in each situation, approaching the matter at hand in the most direct yet
12 courteous manner possible, focusing on the issues with the utmost consideration for every
13 possible solution and respect for the consequences affecting all parties in the process; and
14 WHEREAS, Senator Claitor was born and raised in Baton Rouge and is a product
15 of Baton Rouge public schools, graduating from Robert E. Lee High School in 1979 and
16 receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Louisiana State University in 1983;
17 and
18 WHEREAS, in his youth, he drove delivery trucks and worked the presses and
Page 1 of 4 SR NO. 143
SLS 19RS-1072 ORIGINAL
1 bindery operations at Claitor's Law Books and Publishing company, to which many in the
2 legal profession in Baton Rouge and across the state remain forever indebted; and
3 WHEREAS, Senator Claitor went on to earn his Juris Doctor degree from Loyola
4 University of New Orleans College of Law in 1987, exhibiting throughout his legal
5 education the same preparedness and inquisitiveness that he would later demonstrate as a
6 senator; and
7 WHEREAS, he tried his first jury trial, the defense of a manslaughter case, as a
8 senior in law school in the fall of 1986, and subsequently was awarded the 1986-1987
9 Charles C. Foti Jr. Award for Excellence in the Field of Criminal Justice; and
10 WHEREAS, after graduation, Senator Claitor returned to the courtroom as an
11 assistant district attorney in and for the Parish of Orleans, prosecuting many criminal cases,
12 running the gambit from child support to murder; and
13 WHEREAS, he entered private practice in Baton Rouge in 1990, and has maintained
14 a successful legal career for these many years, having tried more than one hundred
15 admiralty, civil, and criminal jury trials; and
16 WHEREAS, Senator Claitor has represented Senate District No. 16 since April 14,
17 2009, when he was elected in a rough and tumble campaign, and was subsequently reelected
18 in 2011, without opposition, and again reelected in 2016; and
19 WHEREAS, Senator Claitor has served as a member of the Senate Committees on
20 Education, Finance, Health and Welfare, Judiciary A, Local and Municipal Affairs, Natural
21 Resources, Retirement, Revenue and Fiscal Affairs, and Senate and Governmental Affairs
22 and as chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary C; and
23 WHEREAS, he has designed and carried through the legislative process important
24 legislation relative to: access to charter schools by those with developmental disabilities;
25 transparency in the governor's office; the GPS tracking of domestic violence offenders; the
26 creation of crime prevention districts in the Baton Rouge area; firearms and hunter
27 education; penalties for the illegal use and abuse of controlled dangerous substances;
28 reporting child abuse and neglect; juvenile justice issues, including juveniles serving
29 sentences of life without parole; habitual offenders; protecting life and property in areas
30 affected by flooding; the use and misuse of unmanned aircraft; buy-in and oversight of
Page 2 of 4 SR NO. 143
SLS 19RS-1072 ORIGINAL
1 Office of Group Benefits rate setting; various issues of criminal procedure, including
2 expungement and probation and parole; and others too numerous to mention here; and
3 WHEREAS, Senator Claitor's professional and personal interests and dedication find
4 him holding affiliations with the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Baton Rouge Bar
5 Association, the New Orleans Bar Association, the Federal Bar Association, the United
6 States Supreme Court Historical Society, Ducks Unlimited, the Coastal Conservation
7 Association, and the Knights of Columbus; and
8 WHEREAS, he has been the deserving recipient of awards and honors throughout
9 the course of his exemplary service, including the "Outstanding Family Advocate Award"
10 from the Louisiana Family Forum in 2014; and
11 WHEREAS, Senator Claitor is the son of the late Robert Gregory Claitor Sr. and the
12 late Nancy McLellan Claitor, distinguished in their own right in the Baton Rouge area and
13 beyond; and
14 WHEREAS, although he is a committed public servant, he is first and foremost a
15 devoted and loving husband to his wife Sharmaine and proud father of two sons, Samuel and
16 James Daniel; and
17 WHEREAS, Senator Claitor has worn the mantle of community service for three
18 productive terms as a state legislator, and is a public figure of the highest caliber, whose
19 service to the legislature has seen him conscientiously and effectively confront the
20 challenges facing the citizens of his district and the entire state with assurance and candor;
21 and
22 WHEREAS, the good works, both professional and personal, of Senator Claitor will
23 be realized for future generations to come; and
24 WHEREAS, as he prepares for the next productive chapter of his life, Dan Claitor
25 and the Claitor family will continue to have a positive effect on their community and their
26 state for many years to come.
27 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
28 does hereby commend the Honorable Daniel Albert Claitor for his faithful public service to
29 this body and does hereby extend to him the best wishes of his colleagues for continued
30 success in his future endeavors.
Page 3 of 4 SR NO. 143
SLS 19RS-1072 ORIGINAL
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
2 Honorable Dan Claitor, the distinguished legislator from Louisiana Senatorial District 16.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Alden A. Clement Jr.
DIGEST
SR 143 Original 2019 Regular Session Alario
Commends Senator Dan Claitor on his years of distinguished public service representing
Senate District No. 16.
Page 4 of 4