James Paxton
| James Edward "Jim" Paxton | |
 | |
District Attorney for the
Louisiana 6th Judicial District (East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas parishes) | |
| In office January 2008 – | |
| Preceded by | Buddy Caldwell |
|---|---|
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
| Born | December 19, 1963 Madison Parish, Louisiana, USA |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Chris Caffey Paxton |
| Children | Annabelle Parker Paxton
Samuel Henry Paxton |
| Residence | St. Joseph, Tensas Parish, Louisiana |
| Alma mater | Mississippi State University
Louisiana State University Law Center |
| Occupation | Attorney |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
James Edward Paxton, known as Jim Paxton (born December 19, 1963), is the district attorney of the Louisiana 6th Judicial District, which encompasses East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas parishes, located in the Mississippi River delta country in the northeastern corner of the state.
Background
Paxton was born and reared in Madison Parish, one of four sons and two daughters of Albert Henry Paxton, Sr. (1922-2015), and the former Valeria Logue, who predeceased her husband. The senior Paxton, a native of Warren County, Mississippi, served in the United States Army during World War II. He owned and operated Paxton Quarter Horses and LaClede Plantation in Tallulah in Madison Parish. He was a nationally known breeder of quarter horses, having served as the first president of the Mississippi Quarter Horse Association. A lifetime member of the American Quarter Horse Association, he was inducted in 2002 into the National Cutting Horse Hall of Fame.[1]
Like his father, Paxton graduated from Mississippi State University in Starkville, Mississippi. While the senior Paxton studied engineering,[1] Jim Paxton received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1985. In 1988, he obtained his law degree from Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge.[2]
Paxton and his wife, the former Chris Caffey, reside in St. Joseph in Tensas Parish, with their three children:[2] Annabelle Parker Paxton (born 2001), Samuel Henry Paxton (born 2003), and Kathleen Carlyle Paxton (born 2005).[1]
He is a deacon and Sunday school teacher at the St. Joseph Baptist Church.[2]
Career
After passing the bar, Paxton joined the firm of Christovich & Kearney in New Orleans, where he practiced until 1993. He entered politics and, from 1993 to 2002, he was the assistant district attorney in the 6th District; from 2002 to 2008, the first assistant district attorney.
In November 2007, District Attorney Buddy Caldwell of Tallulah, then a Democrat, defeated Republican Royal Alexander in the race for state attorney general. Upon taking office in January 2008, Caldwell named fellow Democrat Paxton, to succeed Caldwell as district attorney.[2] Thereafter, Paxton was elected as DA in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on October 4, 2008. He received 5,767 votes (72 percent) to 2,242 (28 percent) for his lone opponent, Joy Rachelle Jackson (born 1968), another Democrat from Tallulah.[3][4] In 2015, however, in the same election that Democrat John Bel Edwards defeated Republican U.S. Senator David Vitter in the race for governor, Caldwell was unseated by another Republican, Jeff Landry. In 2019, Caldwell returned to the Democratic Party to contest the office of sheriff of Madison Parish.
Paxton is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association and the Louisiana District Attorneys Association. He describes his goals as DA as making "sure that we seek justice swiftly, but fairly ... that we honor our primary obligation to protect the public, but do so in a manner that is just, ethical, and proper."[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Albert Henry Paxton, Sr.. Monroe News Star. Retrieved on June 10, 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 James E. Paxton. sixthda.com. Retrieved on October 4, 2013.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, Election Returns, October 4, 2008,
- ↑ Attorney General Caldwell switched to Republican affiliation and was reelected to a second term in 2011.
