NAACP passes emergency resolution backing Bernette Johnson's claim
by Jonathan Tilove - Times-Picayune (excerpt)

WASHINGTON - The NAACP, at its annual convention in Houston, has passed an emergency resolution defending Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Bernette Johnson's standing to succeed Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball, when she retires in January. While the resolution does not mention Johnson by name, it calls for "full implementation of the Chisom Consent Decree," which "provided for the election of a Justice from a racial and ethnic minority majority voting district to serve on the Louisiana Supreme court with equal compensation, benefits, expenses and emoluments due a Justice to the Louisiana Supreme Court." That language is critical because, as the resolution notes, "one of the emoluments of a Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court is seniority of service," the "Louisiana Constitution mandates that the Louisiana Supreme Court Justice with the most seniority of service shall be declared the Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court," and, on Kimball's retirement, "under existing rules, the next most senior person on the court would become the Chief Justice."