J. Minos Simon
Encyclopedia
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
known for his courtroom theatrics and demeanor.
Early years and education
J. Minos Simon was born to Amar Simon and the former Elvina Bouillion in the community of Nunez in western Vermilion Parish. He was reared in a poor family and spoke only FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
as a child, but he learned to speak English in grade school. As was typical of early Cajun life, he worked in rice and cotton fields and traveled in horse-drawn buggies and wagons.
When Simon was a fourth-grader, his parents moved to Kaplan
Kaplan, Louisiana
Kaplan is a small city in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,177 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
. He graduated from Kaplan High School in 1939. After high school, he served for one year in the U.S. Marine Corps before being medically discharged. He attended both the University of Wisconsin–Madison
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
and Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, most often referred to as Louisiana State University, or LSU, is a public coeducational university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The University was founded in 1853 in what is now known as Pineville, Louisiana, under the name...
in Baton Rouge.
He graduated from the Louisiana State University Law Center in 1946 and was admitted as a member of the Louisiana State Bar the same year. He was admitted to practice before the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in 1949 and before the United States Supreme Court in 1960.
Simon was a breeder of thoroughbred horses on his ranch. After his death, the Simon estate was still running a thoroughbred named "Boyish Charm." He was an avid jogger and participated in scuba diving, deep-sea fishing, and hunting large and small game, including alligator
Alligator
An alligator is a crocodilian in the genus Alligator of the family Alligatoridae. There are two extant alligator species: the American alligator and the Chinese alligator ....
s. He was an airplane pilot and boat captain for more than two decades.
He was the author of two books about Louisiana and its legal heritage: Law in the Cajun Nation (1993), in collaboration with David Leon Chandler, and The Devil in the Law: A Judicial Moral Juridicial Decline (1999). The latter book, with legal scales on the cover, was well-received in the pro-life community. Simon was a strong opponent of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
.
Simon was a lecturer on topics dear to Acadiana
Acadiana
Acadiana, or The Heart of Acadiana, is the official name given to the French Louisiana region that is home to a large Francophone population. Of the 64 parishes that make up Louisiana, 22 named parishes and other parishes of similar cultural environment, make up the intrastate...
. Prior to his death, the "Living Legends" executive committee inducted Simon into the "Order of Living Legends." "Living Legends" lectures, which are free and open to the public, recognize and honor those persons who have helped to mold and define Cajun culture. The program is sponsored by the Acadian Museum of Erath
Erath, Louisiana
Erath is a town in Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 2,187 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Abbeville Micropolitan Statistical Area.Erath is home of the Acadian Museum....
.
Simon also lectured at many legal seminars and symposia. Warren A. Perrin, President of the interest group known as the Council for the Development of French in Louisiana, or CODOFIL, said that Simon had "been a mentor and inspiration for many young attorneys . . . [who was] always willing to share his experience with others and [had] been a guest lecturer for the Francophone Section of t
Trial lawyer for 56 years
Simon served as a trial lawyer in both civil and criminal cases in both state and federal courts in a career that exceeded a half century. He handled thousands of cases. He was known for his high profile civil and criminal cases throughout Louisiana. A computer search several years ago disclosed that he presented to higher courts for adjudication more than 551 reported cases, 459 of which were presented to the Appellate and Supreme courts of Louisiana and 105 cases to the federal courts, 29 of which went to the United States Supreme Court.In 1981, Simon was the attorney for three junior high school girls who sought to remain in Buckeye High School in Rapides Parish, despite a desegregation order to the contrary from U.S. District Judge Nauman Scott
Nauman Scott
Nauman Steele Scott, II , was a Republican-appointed federal judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana from 1970 until 2001, who ordered cross-parish busing guidelines in 1980 to foster racial balance in Rapides Parish public schools...
of Alexandria
Alexandria, Louisiana
Alexandria is a city in and the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the principal city of the Alexandria metropolitan area which encompasses all of Rapides and Grant parishes....
. In order to remain at the Buckeye school, the custody of the girls, who the media dubbed "the Buckeye Three," was transferred to state Judge Richard "Dick" Lee.
In the mid-1970s, Simon represented John Kenneth Snyder, Sr.
John K. Snyder
John Kenneth Snyder, Sr., sometimes known as Tillie Snyder , was a colorful, outspoken Democratic mayor of Alexandria, Louisiana, from 1973–1977 and again from 1982-1986....
, (1922–1993), who was mayor of Alexandria from 1973–1977 and again from 1982–1986, in a series of city and personal legal matters which stemmed from grievances that Snyder had against various public agencies or political opponents.
Defending chiropractors and children
As early as 1965, Simon was working to permit chiropractors to have the same standing in the medical profession as other doctors of medicine. He represented a chiropractor known as Jerry England. Simon devoted eight years pressing to overturn a Louisiana statute which limited the licensed, legal practice of chiropractics to those who held a doctorate from a school of medicine. Although Simon was not successful, and the England case was ultimately decided in favor of the state medical board, Simon was credited by the Louisiana Chropractic Association for laying the groundwork for the eventual recognition of chiropractors as bona fide medical professionals.Simon also took an early lead in the filing of numerous civil suits against the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
on behalf of children who were sexually-abused by priests and other church workers. Simon once named Pope John Paul II as a defendant in a legal motion. Suing the pope was a technicality; but the damaging headlines were a sign at the Vatican
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
Embassy that church officials in Louisiana were unaware of the extent of the problem.
Running for attorney general, 1971
In 1971, Simon entered the DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
primary for Louisiana attorney general
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general, or attorney-general, is the main legal advisor to the government, and in some jurisdictions he or she may also have executive responsibility for law enforcement or responsibility for public prosecutions.The term is used to refer to any person...
in an unsuccessful effort to succeed scandal-plagued incumbent
Incumbent
The incumbent, in politics, is the existing holder of a political office. This term is usually used in reference to elections, in which races can often be defined as being between an incumbent and non-incumbent. For example, in the 2004 United States presidential election, George W...
Jack P.F. Gremillion
Jack P.F. Gremillion
Jack Paul Faustin Gremillion, Sr. , was the Democratic attorney general of Louisiana from 1956-1972. He was a member of the Earl Kemp Long political faction. Though he opposed school desegregation, he was a party loyalist and was an elector for the John F. Kennedy--Lyndon B. Johnson presidential...
. Simon was not well known statewide at the time of the campaign though he had been an attorney for the controversial Teamsters Union business agent Edward Grady Partin
Edward Grady Partin
Edward Grady Partin, Sr. , was a business agent of the Teamsters Union in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His testimony in 1964 helped to convict union president James Riddle Hoffa of jury tampering.-Early years:...
of Baton Rouge. Simon failed to make the pivotal runoff primary. Instead, the nomination was secured by a state senator from New Orleans, William J. Guste, Jr.
William J. Guste
William J. "Billy" Guste, Jr., is a New Orleans attorney, businessman and popular Democratic attorney general of Louisiana from 1972 to 1992. He succeeded the scandal-plagued Jack P.F. Gremillion, a fellow Democrat who had held the position since 1956. Guste received recognition for molding the...
, who defeated senatorial colleague George T. Oubre, Sr., and then crushed the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee, Tom Stagg
Tom Stagg
Thomas Eaton "Tom" Stagg, Jr. , is a Louisiana attorney, businessman, politician, and jurist who has served as a United States federal judge for the Western District of Louisiana since his appointment by President Richard Nixon in the spring of 1974...
, in the general election
General election
In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...
. Stagg became a U.S. District judge in 1974.
Simon's obituary
Simon died at his residence in ArnaudvilleArnaudville, Louisiana
Arnaudville is a town in St. Landry and St. Martin parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 1,398 at the 2000 census.The St. Martin Parish portion of Arnaudville is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the St...
near Lafayette but in St. Landry Parish. His obituary said that he was "a trial attorney of 56 years, who actively engaged life in many respects. While his legendary legal talents speak for themselves, he was an avid sportsman who was as comfortable quoting the great philosophers, as he was hunting alligators in the marshes of Louisiana. He loved hunting, fishing, scuba diving, and horse racing. He was a published author and an accomplished aviator, and without question, a man who fully embraced life on all levels. He expressly wanted to be remembered as one who dearly loved his family, friends, clients, and country."
Simon was survived by his wife, Jeanie Holmes Simon of Arnaudville; two daughters, Michelle Simon Eckert of Baton Rouge and Suzette Simon Tardo of Lafayette; three sons, Joseph Minos "Jay" Simon, Jr., of Baton Rouge, Joseph Clemille "Cle" Simon of Lafayette, and Joseph Quentin Simon of Lafayette; two stepdaughters, Jodi Fulton Benton of Baton Rouge and Jennifer Reeves LaBorde of Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
; ten grandchildren; ten step-grandchildren; thirty-two step-great-grandchildren.