Judicial Non-Disclosure

Critiques of the Judiciary

CANON 2: A judge shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of the judge’s activities.

-- Model Code of Judicial Conduct, 2004 Ed.

Judicial Non-Disclosure as Disclosure

Avoidance of full disclosure is the latest trend

Stanwood R. Duval, Jr. knows that a judge can avoid disclosing the monetary value of a gratuity by simply categorizing it as a "reimbursement." The practice is widespread and follows a trend by judges to omit or redact what they deem to be sensitive or potentially embarrassing personal information. Judges are very circumspect about associations that could be interpreted as influencing their opinion about an issue that might come before them. They also exercise near-absolute discretion in matters of self-disqualification.

"Disclosure" of Non-Professional Trips
Stanwood R. Duval, Jr., U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Louisiana
Reporting
Year Category Source Description Items Paid or Provided
(Reimbursement) Value
(Gift)

2006 Gift Donald "Boysie" Bollinger¹ Hunting trip, Argentina
(dates not shown) - - $5,000

2006 Gift Arlen B. Cenac² Hunting trip, Canada
(dates not shown) - - $4,000

2007 Reimbursement Donald "Boysie" Bollinger Hunting trip, Argentina⁴
(Sept. 1-6, 2007) Travel, food, lodging - -

2007 Reimbursement Arlen B. Cenac Fishing trip, Alaska⁴
(Sept. 21-28, 2007) Travel, food, lodging - -

2007 Reimbursement Donald "Boysie" Bollinger Mardi-Gras Ball, Washington, D.C.
(Feb. 8-11, 2007) Food, entertainment - -

2007 Reimbursement Calvin Fayard³ LSU Football game, Tuscaloosa, AL
(Nov. 12, 2005) Travel, football ticket - -

2008 Reimbursement Donald "Boysie" Bollinger Hunting trip, Argentina⁴
(Aug. 20-25, 2008) Travel, food, lodging - -

2009 Reimbursement Donald "Boysie" Bollinger Hunting trip, Argentina⁴
(Aug. 14-18, 2009) Travel, food and lodging - -

2009 Reimbursement Arlen "Benny" Cenac, Jr. Fishing trip, Panama⁴
(Aug. 28-Sept. 2, 2009) Travel, food and lodging - -

2010 Reimbursement Donald "Boysie" Bollinger Hunting trip, Argentina⁴
(Aug. 18-22, 2010) Travel, food and lodging - -

2011 Reimbursement Donald "Boysie" Bollinger Hunting trip, Argentina⁴
(Aug. 15-20, 2011) Travel, food and lodging - -

2011 Reimbursement Arlen "Benny" Cenac, Jr. To/From San Antonio, Texas
(May 2 & 5, 2011) Travel only
(Conference) - -

2012 Reimbursement Donald "Boysie" Bollinger Hunting trip, Argentina⁴
(Aug. 20-24, 2012) Travel and lodging - -

2012 Reimbursement Arlen "Benny" Cenac, Jr. To/From Houston, Texas
(January 17 & 23, 2012) Air Travel
(Surgery) - -

Footnotes:

Duval describes Bollinger as a "life-long friend" and states that he will recuse himself from any cases that involve him or any of his companies.

Duval describes Cenac as a "former client" and states that he will recuse himself from any cases that involve him or any of his companies.

Duval describes Fayard as a "friend and an attorney," and states that the transaction was omitted "inadvertently" from the 2005 disclosure report and that Fayard did not have any cases before him at the time of the November 12, 2005 trip. Duval does not state that he will recuse himself from cases that involve Fayard or his companies. The date of Duval's 2007 Financial Disclosure Report is August 10, 2008.

On August 28, 2007, Fayard filed Civil Action No. 07-4783 [PDF] on behalf of his company, Andante, LLC. The case, Andante, LLC et al v. AIG Private Client Group, was assigned to Duval, who subsequently placed it under the umbrella of Civil Action No. 05-4182 (Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation), where it continued to be litigated as case No. 07-4783. It was settled on October 3, 2008 for an undisclosed sum of money. Andante's storm-damaged property was actually Fayard's St. Charles Avenue residence in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Absent from Judge Duval's reports are not only the monetary values of the hunting and fishing trips he received after 2006, but also the identities of other individuals who may have participated in those excursions.

Source: AO-10 Financial Disclosure Reports for 2006-2012, Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Judicial Watch has also made many Financial Disclosure Reports available at http://www.judicialwatch.org/judicial-financial-disclosure/. Accessed 03/12/2014.

Additional Reading:

Joe Stephens, "U.S. Judges Getting Disclosure Data Deleted; GAO Cites 661 Requests to Withhold Information From Ethics Act," The Washington Post, August 5, 2004, p. A-4.

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"Disclosure" of Non-Professional Trips Stanwood R. Duval, Jr., U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Louisiana
Reporting Year	Category	Source	Description	Items Paid or Provided (Reimbursement)	Value (Gift)
2006	Gift	Donald "Boysie" Bollinger¹	Hunting trip, Argentina (dates not shown)	- -	$5,000
2006	Gift	Arlen B. Cenac²	Hunting trip, Canada (dates not shown)	- -	$4,000
2007	Reimbursement	Donald "Boysie" Bollinger	Hunting trip, Argentina⁴ (Sept. 1-6, 2007)	Travel, food, lodging	- -
2007	Reimbursement	Arlen B. Cenac	Fishing trip, Alaska⁴ (Sept. 21-28, 2007)	Travel, food, lodging	- -
2007	Reimbursement	Donald "Boysie" Bollinger	Mardi-Gras Ball, Washington, D.C. (Feb. 8-11, 2007)	Food, entertainment	- -
2007	Reimbursement	Calvin Fayard³	LSU Football game, Tuscaloosa, AL (Nov. 12, 2005)	Travel, football ticket	- -
2008	Reimbursement	Donald "Boysie" Bollinger	Hunting trip, Argentina⁴ (Aug. 20-25, 2008)	Travel, food, lodging	- -
2009	Reimbursement	Donald "Boysie" Bollinger	Hunting trip, Argentina⁴ (Aug. 14-18, 2009)	Travel, food and lodging	- -
2009	Reimbursement	Arlen "Benny" Cenac, Jr.	Fishing trip, Panama⁴ (Aug. 28-Sept. 2, 2009)	Travel, food and lodging	- -
2010	Reimbursement	Donald "Boysie" Bollinger	Hunting trip, Argentina⁴ (Aug. 18-22, 2010)	Travel, food and lodging	- -
2011	Reimbursement	Donald "Boysie" Bollinger	Hunting trip, Argentina⁴ (Aug. 15-20, 2011)	Travel, food and lodging	- -
2011	Reimbursement	Arlen "Benny" Cenac, Jr.	To/From San Antonio, Texas (May 2 & 5, 2011)	Travel only (Conference)	- -
2012	Reimbursement	Donald "Boysie" Bollinger	Hunting trip, Argentina⁴ (Aug. 20-24, 2012)	Travel and lodging	- -
2012	Reimbursement	Arlen "Benny" Cenac, Jr.	To/From Houston, Texas (January 17 & 23, 2012)	Air Travel (Surgery)	- -
Footnotes: Duval describes Bollinger as a "life-long friend" and states that he will recuse himself from any cases that involve him or any of his companies. Duval describes Cenac as a "former client" and states that he will recuse himself from any cases that involve him or any of his companies. Duval describes Fayard as a "friend and an attorney," and states that the transaction was omitted "inadvertently" from the 2005 disclosure report and that Fayard did not have any cases before him at the time of the November 12, 2005 trip. Duval does not state that he will recuse himself from cases that involve Fayard or his companies. The date of Duval's 2007 Financial Disclosure Report is August 10, 2008. On August 28, 2007, Fayard filed Civil Action No. 07-4783 [PDF] on behalf of his company, Andante, LLC. The case, Andante, LLC et al v. AIG Private Client Group, was assigned to Duval, who subsequently placed it under the umbrella of Civil Action No. 05-4182 (Katrina Canal Breaches Consolidated Litigation), where it continued to be litigated as case No. 07-4783. It was settled on October 3, 2008 for an undisclosed sum of money. Andante's storm-damaged property was actually Fayard's St. Charles Avenue residence in New Orleans, Louisiana. Absent from Judge Duval's reports are not only the monetary values of the hunting and fishing trips he received after 2006, but also the identities of other individuals who may have participated in those excursions.
Source: AO-10 Financial Disclosure Reports for 2006-2012, Administrative Office of the United States Courts. Judicial Watch has also made many Financial Disclosure Reports available at http://www.judicialwatch.org/judicial-financial-disclosure/. Accessed 03/12/2014.
Additional Reading: Joe Stephens, "U.S. Judges Getting Disclosure Data Deleted; GAO Cites 661 Requests to Withhold Information From Ethics Act," The Washington Post, August 5, 2004, p. A-4.