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| | Landry scored a comeback to win the office of attorney general in the general election held on November 21, 2015, in which he, a lifelong Republican, unseated the incumbent James David "Buddy" Caldwell, Sr. (born 1946), a Democrat-turned-Republican. Since his election as attorney general, Landry has been in frequent legal disputes with the Democratic Governor [[John Bel Edwards]] (no relation to Edwin Edwards). Early in 2018, Landry announced that an agreement had been reached with the governor's office about control of Louisiana's lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.<ref name=snowboarding/> | | Landry scored a comeback to win the office of attorney general in the general election held on November 21, 2015, in which he, a lifelong Republican, unseated the incumbent James David "Buddy" Caldwell, Sr. (born 1946), a Democrat-turned-Republican. Since his election as attorney general, Landry has been in frequent legal disputes with the Democratic Governor [[John Bel Edwards]] (no relation to Edwin Edwards). Early in 2018, Landry announced that an agreement had been reached with the governor's office about control of Louisiana's lawsuit against opioid manufacturers.<ref name=snowboarding/> |
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| − | On March 27, 2018, Landry cited the lack of evidence that could be brought to a grand jury in the case of two white Baton Rouge police officers involved in the fatal shooting in July 2016 of the African-American Alton Sterling. Landry noted that federal authorities had declined to bring charges, and East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore had recused himself because of a personal tie to the family of one of the officers. The officers claim they gave Sterling verbal warnings and an opportunity to surrender upon arrest but fired when they believed Sterling was reaching for a gun in his possession. Sterling's death led to riots in Baton Rouge. Still pending is a civil suit filed on behalf of the five Sterling children against the officers and the city-parish of Baton Rouge. The suit accuses the police department of lax training and poor procedures whicn contributed to Sterling's death. In addition, the two officers still face in-house discipline by the police department, and Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, an African-American, has called for their termination.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/US/police-face-charges-alton-sterling-shooting-case/story?id=54039904|title=Police won't face charges in Alton Sterling shooting case|publisher=[[ABC]] News|author=M. L. Nestel|accessdate=March 27, 2018}}</ref> | + | On March 27, 2018, Landry cited the lack of evidence that could be brought to a grand jury in the case of two white Baton Rouge police officers involved in the fatal shooting in July 2016 of the African-American Alton Sterling. Landry noted that federal authorities had declined to bring charges, and East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore had recused himself because of a personal tie to the family of one of the officers. The officers claim they gave Sterling verbal warnings and an opportunity to surrender upon arrest but fired when they believed Sterling was reaching for a gun in his possession. Sterling's death led to riots in Baton Rouge. Still pending is a civil suit filed on behalf of the five Sterling children against the officers and the city-parish of Baton Rouge. The suit accuses the police department of lax training and poor procedures whicn contributed to Sterling's death. In addition, the two officers still face in-house discipline by the police department, and Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome, an African-American, has called for their termination.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/police-face-charges-alton-sterling-shooting-case/story?id=54039904|title=Police won't face charges in Alton Sterling shooting case|publisher=[[ABC]] News|author=M. L. Nestel|accessdate=March 27, 2018}}</ref> |
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| | Landry is a firm advocate of student-led [[prayer]] in public education and appeared on April 8, 2018, at meetings in [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] and [[Bossier City]] with [[U.S. Representative]] [[Mike Johnson]] of Louisiana's 4th congressional district. At the gatherings, the two Republicans explained how the [[U.S. Constitution]] protects religious freedom. Johnson and Landry said that many teachers and administrators misconstrue the [[First Amendment]] rights of students and are often intimidated by [[Atheism|atheist]] organizations that oppose prayer. Bossier Parish has been sued for allowing some educators to introduce religious themes into their lessons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://710keel.com/mike-johnson-jeff-landry-on-1st-amendment-and-prayer-in-schools-video/|title=Mike Johnson, Jeff Landry on First Amendment and Prayer in Schools|author=Robert J. Wright|publisher=KEEL Radio|accessdate=April 9, 2018}}</ref> | | Landry is a firm advocate of student-led [[prayer]] in public education and appeared on April 8, 2018, at meetings in [[Minden, Louisiana|Minden]] and [[Bossier City]] with [[U.S. Representative]] [[Mike Johnson]] of Louisiana's 4th congressional district. At the gatherings, the two Republicans explained how the [[U.S. Constitution]] protects religious freedom. Johnson and Landry said that many teachers and administrators misconstrue the [[First Amendment]] rights of students and are often intimidated by [[Atheism|atheist]] organizations that oppose prayer. Bossier Parish has been sued for allowing some educators to introduce religious themes into their lessons.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://710keel.com/mike-johnson-jeff-landry-on-1st-amendment-and-prayer-in-schools-video/|title=Mike Johnson, Jeff Landry on First Amendment and Prayer in Schools|author=Robert J. Wright|publisher=KEEL Radio|accessdate=April 9, 2018}}</ref> |