Changes

| birth_place=Cheneyville,  Rapides Parish​

| birth_place=Cheneyville,  Rapides Parish​

| residence=Lecompte, Rapides Parish​

| residence=Lecompte, Rapides Parish​

| occupation=[[Attorney]]​

| occupation=[[Attorney]]​

| spouse =Maureen Stewart Downs​

| spouse=Maureen Stewart Downs​

| parents=Crawford Hugh "Sammy" Downs<br>​

| parents=Crawford Hugh "Sammy" Downs<br>​

Alice Daigre Downs Thomas​

Alice Daigre Downs Thomas​

[[J. Earl Downs]] (uncle)​<br>

[[J. Earl Downs]] (uncle)​<br>

[[James U. Downs]] (cousin)<br>​

[[James U. Downs]] (cousin)<br>​

Louis J. Daigre, Jr. (maternal uncle)​

Louis Jacob Daigre, Jr. (maternal uncle)​

| alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]] Law Center​

| alma_mater=[[Louisiana State University]] Law Center​

| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]​}}

| party=[[Democratic Party|Democrat]]​}}

​

​

'''James Crawford Downs''', known as '''Jam Downs''' (born October 7, 1940), is the former district attorney of the [[Louisiana]] 9th Judicial District Court based in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], a position which he held from 2000 to 2015.

'''James Crawford Downs''', known as '''Jam Downs''' (October 7, 1940 &ndash; September 5, 2026), was the former district attorney of the [[Louisiana]] 9th Judicial District Court based in [[Alexandria, Louisiana|Alexandria]], a position which he retained held from 2000 to 2015.

==Background==

==Background==

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Downs, who has two sisters, is the son of Crawford Hugh "Sammy" Downs (1911-1985) of Alexandria who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature and was a confidant of [[Governor]]s [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]] and [[John J. McKeithen]]. His mother, the former Alice Daigre (pronounced 'Dage'), subsequently Alice Downs and then Alice Thomas (1914-1994), was a sister of the Alexandria consulting engineer Louis Jacob Daigre, Jr.<ref name=jamdowns/> (1915-1981). Sammy Downs is interred at Greenwood Memorial Park in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]].<ref>''[[Alexandria Town Talk]],'' May 15, 1985.</ref> Alice Daigre Downs Thomas, who died nine years after the passing of her first husband, from whom she was divorced, is interred at the Henderson James Cemetery in rural Hot Wells in Rapides Parish.<ref>''The Alexandria Town Talk,'' August 22, 1994.</ref>​

Downs, who had two sisters, was the son of Crawford Hugh "Sammy" Downs (1911-1985) of Alexandria who served in both houses of the Louisiana State Legislature and was a confidant of [[Governor]]s [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]] and [[John J. McKeithen]]. His mother, the former Alice Daigre (pronounced 'Dage'), subsequently Alice Downs and then Alice Thomas (1914-1994), was a sister of the Alexandria consulting engineer Louis Jacob Daigre, Jr.<ref name=jamdowns/> (1915-1981). Sammy Downs is interred at Greenwood Memorial Park in [[Pineville, Louisiana|Pineville]].<ref>''[[Alexandria Town Talk]],'' May 15, 1985.</ref> Alice Daigre Downs Thomas, who died nine years after the passing of her first husband, from whom she was divorced, is interred at the Henderson James Cemetery in rural Hot Wells in Rapides Parish, where Jam Downs also rests.<ref>''The Alexandria Town Talk,'' August 22, 1994.</ref>​

Downs' uncle, [[J. Earl Downs]], was the public safety commissioner prior to 1963 in [[Shreveport]], where he served alongside [[Mayor]]s [[James C, Gardner]] and [[Clyde Fant]].<ref>[[Elliott Stonecipher]], "Shreveport History: In Support of the Spring Street Museum," February 4, 2012.</ref> He was unseated in the 1962 Democratic primary by George Wendell D'Artois, Sr. (1925-1977).

Downs' uncle, [[J. Earl Downs]], was the public safety commissioner prior to 1963 in [[Shreveport]], where he served alongside [[Mayor]]s [[James C, Gardner]] and [[Clyde Fant]].<ref>[[Elliott Stonecipher]], "Shreveport History: In Support of the Spring Street Museum," February 4, 2012.</ref> He was unseated in the 1962 Democratic primary by George Wendell D'Artois, Sr. (1925-1977).

Three candidates ran in the [[primary]] held on November 4, 2014, to choose a successor to Downs, who customarily ran without an opponent. One was then state Representative [[Chris Hazel]], a [[Republican Party|Republican]] from Ball, Louisiana, and a former assistant DA under Downs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20140429/NEWS01/304290022/Boyce-businessman-Grant-announces-run-Congress-Hazel-won-t-run-seat|author=Jeff Matthews|title=Boyce businessman Grant announces run for Congress; Hazel won't run for [U.S. House] seat|date=April 28, 2014|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|accessdate=April 29, 2014; no longer on-line.}}</ref> Democrat [[Chris Roy, Jr.|Christopher J. Roy, Jr.]], a Democratic former state representative and a brother of Jacques Roy, the former mayor of Alexandria, also sought the position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20140219/NEWS01/140219001/Chris-Roy-Jr-run-Rapides-Parish-district-attorney|title=Chris Roy Jr. to run for Rapides Parish district attorney, February 19, 2014|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|accessdate=April 29, 2014; no longer on-line.}}</ref>  

Three candidates ran in the [[primary]] held on November 4, 2014, to choose a successor to Downs, who customarily ran without an opponent. One was then state Representative [[Chris Hazel]], a [[Republican Party|Republican]] from Ball, Louisiana, and a former assistant DA under Downs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20140429/NEWS01/304290022/Boyce-businessman-Grant-announces-run-Congress-Hazel-won-t-run-seat|author=Jeff Matthews|title=Boyce businessman Grant announces run for Congress; Hazel won't run for [U.S. House] seat|date=April 28, 2014|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|accessdate=April 29, 2014; no longer on-line.}}</ref> Democrat [[Chris Roy, Jr.|Christopher J. Roy, Jr.]], a Democratic former state representative and a brother of Jacques Roy, the former mayor of Alexandria, also sought the position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20140219/NEWS01/140219001/Chris-Roy-Jr-run-Rapides-Parish-district-attorney|title=Chris Roy Jr. to run for Rapides Parish district attorney, February 19, 2014|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|accessdate=April 29, 2014; no longer on-line.}}</ref>  

However, the winner of the race to succeed Downs was Phillip Terrell, Jr., a former city judge in Pineville with decades of legal experienc.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20140404/NEWS01/140404003/Phillip-Terrell-former-Pineville-judge-enters-race-Rapides-Parish-district-attorney|title=Phillip Terrell, former Pineville judge, enters race for Rapides Parish district attorney, April 4, 2014|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|accessdate=April 29, 2014; no longer on-line.}}</ref>Terrell defeated Hazel in a close runoff election on December 6 and succeeded Downs in January 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/12062014/12062014_40.html|title=Runoff election returns, December 6, 2014|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=December 8, 2014}}</ref> In 2018, Hazel won a special election for a judgeship on the 9th Judicial District Court.​

However, the winner of the race to succeed Downs was Phillip Terrell, Jr., a former city judge in Pineville with decades of legal experience.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thetowntalk.com/article/20140404/NEWS01/140404003/Phillip-Terrell-former-Pineville-judge-enters-race-Rapides-Parish-district-attorney|title=Phillip Terrell, former Pineville judge, enters race for Rapides Parish district attorney, April 4, 2014|publisher=''The Alexandria Town Talk''|accessdate=April 29, 2014; no longer on-line.}}</ref>Terrell defeated Hazel in a close runoff election on December 6 and succeeded Downs in January 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://staticresults.sos.la.gov/12062014/12062014_40.html|title=Runoff election returns, December 6, 2014|publisher=Louisiana Secretary of State|accessdate=December 8, 2014}}</ref> In 2018, Hazel won a special election for a judgeship on the 9th Judicial District Court.​

 

==References==

==References==