Judge Jules Edwards III has died.
According to our partners at The Advocate, Mayor-President Monique Boulet announced his passing at Tuesday's City Council meeting.
Edwards was 66 years old.
He was a City Court Judge, but he also served many years on the 15th Judicial District bench.
According to the Louisiana Judicial Council website, Edwards began his service in the City Court of Lafayette, Division “A” on January 1, 2023. He also serves as Louisiana’s Judicial Outreach Liaison, teaching judges how to handle impaired driving cases, and previously served in Division “B” of the 15th Judicial District Court of the State of Louisiana from January 1, 1993, to December 31, 2020. There he served as Chief Judge of the 15th Judicial District Court from 2001until 2003 and has been a pioneer of drug courts and re-entry courts. Prior to serving on the court, he served as an Indigent Defender Attorney, an Assistant District Attorney, Counsel to the Louisiana Senate’s Select Committee on Crime and Drugs, and a partner in Edwards and Edwards Law Offices.
He was inducted into the Louisiana Justice Hall of Fame in 2013. Judge Edwards is also a former Chairman of the Louisiana Judiciary Commission, serving from 2013 to 2017. He also served as Vice Chair of the Commission from December 5, 2014, until April 2, 2015, and as chair of the Commission from August 21, 2015, until August 27, 2016, during which time he oversaw a major overhaul of the rules governing the procedures of the Commission.
Judge Edwards was President of the Louisiana District Judges Association 2014-2015. From 2011 to 2018, he worked with the Louisiana Sentencing Commission (LSA-R.S. 15:322) to assist the judiciary and the legislature in formulating and implementing a uniform sentencing policy. He is a past member of the Advisory Council on Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education which was created by Act 88 of the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature (2018 – 2020) and a past member of the Louisiana Drug Policy Board which was created by LSA-R.S. 49:219.2, (2018 – 2020), and a current member of the DWI-Task Force since 2021.
Judge Jules Edwards received his undergraduate and law degrees from Loyola University in New Orleans in 1981 and 1984, respectively. He earned a Master of Public Administration from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in 1994, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College in 2005. Judge Edwards enlisted in the United States Marine Corps Reserve in 1977 and served in the Louisiana National Guard from 1981 until 2007. He served in the Infantry, Artillery, and Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He also served as the 256th Infantry Brigade’s Inspector General and the State Judge Advocate. In 2007, he retired as Colonel of the Louisiana National Guard and was recognized as the best Staff Judge Advocate in the United States.
Judge Edwards is married to Orida and they are the honored parents of three adult children. The Judge’s motto is “Dare to Dream.”
