John Baptiste Fournet was a Speaker

Speaker (politics)

The term speaker is a title often given to the presiding officer of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body. The speaker's official role is to moderate debate, make rulings on procedure, announce the results of votes, and the like. The speaker decides who may speak and has the...

 of the Louisiana House of Representatives

Louisiana House of Representatives

The Louisiana House of Representatives is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Louisiana. The House is composed of 105 Representatives, each of whom represents approximately 42,500 people . Members serve four-year terms with a term limit of...

, lieutenant governor

Lieutenant governor

A lieutenant governor or lieutenant-governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction, but is often the deputy or lieutenant to or ranking under a governor — a "second-in-command"...

 (1932–1935) of his state, and associate justice

Associate Justice

Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...

 (1935–1949) and Chief Justice

Chief Justice

The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 of the Louisiana Supreme Court

Louisiana Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans....

 (1949–1970). He was an original backer of Governor and United States Senator Huey Pierce Long, Jr.

Huey Long

Huey Pierce Long, Jr. , nicknamed The Kingfish, served as the 40th Governor of Louisiana from 1928–1932 and as a U.S. Senator from 1932 to 1935. A Democrat, he was noted for his radical populist policies. Though a backer of Franklin D...

Early years, family, military, education

Fournet was the oldest of ten children born to Louis Michel Fournet, a wealthy sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

 planter, and the former Marcelite Gauthier in St. Martinville

St. Martinville, Louisiana

St. Martinville is a city in and the parish seat of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on Bayou Teche, sixteen miles south of Breaux Bridge, eighteen miles southeast of Lafayette, and nine miles north of New Iberia. The population was 6,989 at the 2000 census. It is part of the...

, the seat of St. Martin Parish in south Louisiana. He attended public schools in St. Martin Parish, and in 1913, he became a teacher

Teacher

A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...

 in a one-room rural

Rural

Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...

 schoolhouse in southwestern Louisiana. In 1915, he graduated with honors from Northwestern State University

Northwestern State University

Northwestern State University, known as NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.NSU was founded in 1884 as...

 (then Louisiana State Normal

Normal school

A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...

 College) in Natchitoches

Natchitoches, Louisiana

Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...

 and returned to his teaching career. He taught in Vernon, Jefferson Davis, and Pointe Coupee parishes. At the age of twenty, he was already the principal of Morganza High School

Morganza High School

Morganza High School was a high school located at 752 South Louisiana Highway 3050 in the village of Morganza, Louisiana. The school was established in 1906 as a three-room school building. It was closed as a high school in the early 1980s. The school's mascot was the Tigers...

 in Morganza

Morganza, Louisiana

Morganza is an incorporated village near the Mississippi River in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 659 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The village's zip code is 70759...

, a village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 near the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

 in Pointe Coupee Parish.

During World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, Fournet was a private

Private (rank)

A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank .In modern military parlance, 'Private' is shortened to 'Pte' in the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth countries and to 'Pvt.' in the United States.Notably both Sir Fitzroy MacLean and Enoch Powell are examples of, rare, rapid career...

 at Camp Martin in Louisiana and then Camp Hancock in Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 but did not leave the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

In 1920, he received an LL.B. degree from 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...

 Law School in Baton Rouge. He was president of his law school class and was an excellent LSU American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player as well. After graduation, he returned to St. Martinville to practice law. There on February 1, 1921, he married his first wife, the former Rose M. Dupuis of Breaux Bridge

Breaux Bridge, Louisiana

Breaux Bridge is a city in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population is 8,139 as of the 2010 census. It is part of the Lafayette Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, with whom he had two children. They were subsequently divorce

Divorce

Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...

d. He later practiced law in Baton Rouge and then Jennings

Jennings, Louisiana

Jennings is a small city in and the parish seat of Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana, United States, near Lake Charles. The population was 10,986 at the 2000 census....

, the seat of Jefferson Davis Parish, in southwestern Louisiana.

Huey Long defender

Fournet was elected to the state House in 1928 from Jefferson Davis Parish and though a freshman member was tapped by Huey Long as Speaker of the House. In that role, he tried to prevent the House from impeaching

Impeachment

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

 Long in 1929 by recognizing a questionable call for adjournment. In the dispute, Fournet particularly clashed with State Representative Cecil Morgan

Cecil Morgan

Cecil Morgan, Sr. was a leader of the legislative forces that in 1929 attempted to impeach Louisiana Governor Huey Pierce Long, Jr...

 of Shreveport

Shreveport, Louisiana

Shreveport is the third largest city in Louisiana. It is the principal city of the fourth largest metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana and is the 109th-largest city in the United States....

, one of the leaders in the impeachment of Long. The two were thereafter estranged for fifty years. They reconciled not long before Fournet's death.

Nevertheless, eight articles of impeachment were subsequently approved by the House but blocked by the "Round Robin" petition signed by the critical fifteen of the thirty-nine Louisiana state senators. In 1930, Long went on the floor of the Louisiana House to lobby successfully against an anti-Long effort to unseat Fournet as Speaker.

Lieutenant governor

Fournet was elected lieutenant governor within the Democratic

Democratic 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 on the Long-backed ticket led by Oscar Kelly Allen

Oscar K. Allen

Oscar Kelly Allen, Sr. , also known as O. K. Allen, was the 42nd Governor of Louisiana from 1932 to 1936. He was a key lieutenant in the political machine of Huey Pierce Long, Jr., that dominated the state during the first half of the 1930s...

 of Winnfield

Winnfield, Louisiana

Winnfield is a city in and the parish seat of Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census. It has long been associated with the Long faction of the Louisiana Democratic Party and was home to three governors of Louisiana.-Geography:Winnfield is located at ...

, considered a "yes-man" to Huey Long. Ironically, his chief party rival was Earl Kemp Long

Earl Long

Earl Kemp Long was an American politician and the 45th Governor of Louisiana for three non-consecutive terms. Long termed himself the "last of the red hot poppas" of politics, referring to his stump-speaking skills...

, whom Huey Long refused to support. Most Long family members, however, generally rallied behind Earl Long, who would be elected lieutenant governor in the 1936 Democratic primary.

Fournet's elected predecessor was Paul N. Cyr

Paul N. Cyr

Paul Narcisse Cyr was the elected lieutenant governor in the Huey Pierce Long, Jr., gubernatorial administration who quarreled with the self-designated "Kingfish" throughout most of their tenure...

, a dentist

Dentist

A dentist, also known as a 'dental surgeon', is a doctor that specializes in the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the oral cavity. The dentist's supporting team aides in providing oral health services...

 from Jeanerette

Jeanerette, Louisiana

Jeanerette is a city in Iberia Parish, Louisiana, United States. Known as "Sugar City", it had a population of 5,997 at the 2000 census. It is part of the New Iberia Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Early years:...

 in Iberia Parish. Long succeeded in removing his rival Cyr from the lieutenant governorship in 1931 and replacing him with Alvin O. King, a Long loyalist from Lake Charles

Lake Charles, Louisiana

Lake Charles is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Located in Calcasieu Parish, a major cultural, industrial, and educational center in the southwest region of the state, and one of the most important in...

, the seat of Calcasieu Parish in southwestern Louisiana.

Election to the Supreme Court

Fournet did not complete his term as lieutenant governor because he won a special election to the New Orleans-based state Supreme Court in the fall of 1934. Long, using sound trucks, campaigned personally for Fournet. He became an associate justice on January 2, 1935, and chief justice in 1949. He retired by constitutional mandate in 1970 at the age of seventy-five. He was also a former member of the prestigious LSU Board of Supervisors.

Administration of justice

On the court, Fournet abandoned partisanship and dedicated himself to improving the administration of justice. He spearheaded the reorganization of the appellate court system. When he became chief justice, the dockets of most courts in Louisiana had a heavy backlog. He created the Louisiana Judicial Council and established the position of judicial administrator to implement the work of the council. When court reorganization did not occur through a state constitutional convention, Fournet restructured the appellate court system. He used constitutional amendments that moved much of the Louisiana Supreme Court's jurisdiction to a larger system of intermediary courts of appeal. This allowed the Supreme Court to concentrate on cases of greater importance. The additional appellate judgeships also lessened the court congestion.

During his court tenure, Fournet participated in some 17,500 cases and wrote 1,239 opinions. Of these, 1,043 were majority opinions. Of the 525 rehearings sought from his opinions, only 19 obtained a rehearing. Of those, just seven were reversed. Of his majority opinions, only forty-one were appealed to the United States Supreme Court; nine were granted, and four were reversed.

Major Fournet cases

Major Fournet cases included the following:

Kennedy v. Item Company (1948) — freedom of press does not include the right to maliciously defame a person's reputation

State v. Bentley (1951) — safeguarded Fifth Amendment

Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...

 protection from self-incrimination

Self-incrimination

Self-incrimination is the act of accusing oneself of a crime for which a person can then be prosecuted. Self-incrimination can occur either directly or indirectly: directly, by means of interrogation where information of a self-incriminatory nature is disclosed; indirectly, when information of a...

State v. Pete (1944) — upheld constitutionality of Louisiana Criminal Code

State v. Bessar (1948) — defined scope and applicability of felony

Felony

A felony is a serious crime in the common law countries. The term originates from English common law where felonies were originally crimes which involved the confiscation of a convicted person's land and goods; other crimes were called misdemeanors...

-murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

 doctrine

State v. Hightower (1960) — upheld constitutionality of the drunk driving provision of the criminal code

State v. Smith (1968) — reaffirmed the validity of the definition of public bribery

Bribery

Bribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...

Fournet's decisions strengthened criminal and civil procedure in Louisiana. He introduced a simplified form of indictment in criminal matters and reduced technicalities in matters of civil procedure. In Voisin v. Luke (1966) he wrote that the procedural rules of the civil code were intended to promote the administration of justice, not to allow "entrapment . . . of a litigant" so as to discourage the accused from pursuing a trial on the merits.

In 1941, Justice Fournet wrote a scholarly decision in Succession of Lissa in which he claimed that the sources of Louisiana law date to the Twelve Tables of the Romans

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....

, the Institutes of Gaius, the Justinian Code, and the Code Napoleon.

Fournet's death

In 1953, Justice Fournet married his cousin

Cousin

In kinship terminology, a cousin is a relative with whom one shares one or more common ancestors. The term is rarely used when referring to a relative in one's immediate family where there is a more specific term . The term "blood relative" can be used synonymously and establishes the existence of...

, Sylvia Ann Fournet. The Social Security Death Index

Social Security Death Index

The Social Security Death Index is a database of death records created from the United States Social Security Administration's Death Master File Extract. Most persons who have died since 1962 who had a Social Security Number and whose death has been reported to the Social Security Administration...

 lists a "Rose Fournet" (born November 7, 1898) who died in New Orleans in June 1980; it is unclear if this could be Fournet's wife. (The index does not usually give middle or maiden names though it often includes middle initials.)

Fournet died in Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson, Mississippi

Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...

, where he had retired in 1978. He is interred in St. Michael's Cemetery

Cemetery

A cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...

in St. Martinville. His papers are in the LSU Archives.