Changes

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]] nominee for Louisiana state attorney general in 1972 against [[William J. Guste]]​

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]] nominee for Louisiana state attorney general in 1972 against [[William J. Guste]]​

|religion=[[Episcopalian]]

|religion=[[Episcopalian]]

|alma_mater=Clifton Ellis Byrd High School<br>

|alma_mater=[[Clifton Ellis Byrd]] High School<br>

Marion ([[Alabama]]) Military Institute<br>

Marion ([[Alabama]]) Military Institute<br>

[[Louisiana State University]]<br>

[[Louisiana State University]]<br>([[Baton Rouge]])<br>

LSU Law Center​}}

LSU Law Center​}}

​

​

Stagg's father, Thomas Stagg, Sr. (1892-1960), was a native of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], [[Virginia]], descended from colonial American ancestors. He relocated to Shreveport in 1919 and entered into the [[real estate]] business.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=146896138|title=Funeral Rites Set Today for Thomas Stagg: Prominent Local Real Estate Man Succumbs at Home|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=June 16, 1960|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref> At the age of sixteen, Stagg found his mother, the former Beulah Meyer (1891-1939), dead of [[suicide]] by strangulation in the family home. She had shot herself in a failed suicide attempt earlier on March 9, 1938, and previously had a nervous breakdown.<ref name=mrsstagg>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Stagg&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1117&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=146896270&df=all&|title=Mrs. T. E. Stagg Is Found Dead at Home Here: Despondency, Ill Health Cause of Death; Funeral Today|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=May 3, 1939|page=5|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref>

Stagg's father, Thomas Stagg, Sr. (1892-1960), was a native of [[Richmond, Virginia|Richmond]], [[Virginia]], descended from colonial American ancestors. He relocated to Shreveport in 1919 and entered into the [[real estate]] business.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=146896138|title=Funeral Rites Set Today for Thomas Stagg: Prominent Local Real Estate Man Succumbs at Home|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=June 16, 1960|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref> At the age of sixteen, Stagg found his mother, the former Beulah Meyer (1891-1939), dead of [[suicide]] by strangulation in the family home. She had shot herself in a failed suicide attempt earlier on March 9, 1938, and previously had a nervous breakdown.<ref name=mrsstagg>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Stagg&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSst=20&GScnty=1117&GScntry=4&GSob=n&GRid=146896270&df=all&|title=Mrs. T. E. Stagg Is Found Dead at Home Here: Despondency, Ill Health Cause of Death; Funeral Today|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=May 3, 1939|page=5|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref>

Stagg relocated to Shreveport in 1919 and entered into the [[real estate]] business.<ref>"Rites Set Today for Thomas Stagg: Prominent Local Real Estate Man Succumbs at Home|, ''The Shreveport Times,'' June 16, 1960.</ref>  At the time of his mother's death, Stagg was about to graduate at the age of sixteen from Clifton Ellis Byrd High School in Shreveport. Stagg had a sister, Betty Jane Stagg (1921-1990).​

Stagg relocated to Shreveport in 1919 and entered into the [[real estate]] business.<ref>"Rites Set Today for Thomas Stagg: Prominent Local Real Estate Man Succumbs at Home|, ''The Shreveport Times,'' June 16, 1960.</ref>  At the time of his mother's death, Stagg was about to graduate at the age of sixteen from [[Clifton Ellis Byrd]] High School in Shreveport. Stagg had a sister, Betty Jane Stagg (1921-1990).​

Stagg attended Marion Military Institute in Marion, [[Alabama]], and [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]], from which he completed his [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in 1943.<ref name=fedjudgesdirectory/> During [[World War II]], Stagg was elevated from 1943 to 1946 from second lieutenant]to captain in the [[United States Army]]. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the [[Bronze Star]] for Valor, a second Bronze Star for meritorious service and the [[Purple Heart]] with Oak leaf cluster for wounds received in battle. In the war, Stagg escaped death when a [[Germany|German]] bullet struck a [[Bible]] that he carried in a pocket. Over the years, he often showed colleagues and friends the bullet scars in his Bible.<ref name=staggbio>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2015/06/24/tom-stagg-top-area-us-judge-dies/29201877/|title=Tom Stagg, top area U.S. judge, dies|author=John Andrew Prime|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref>​

Stagg attended Marion Military Institute in Marion, [[Alabama]], and [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]], from which he completed his [[Bachelor of Arts]] degree in 1943.<ref name=fedjudgesdirectory/> During [[World War II]], Stagg was elevated from 1943 to 1946 from second lieutenant]to captain in the [[United States Army]]. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge, the [[Bronze Star]] for Valor, a second Bronze Star for meritorious service and the [[Purple Heart]] with Oak leaf cluster for wounds received in battle. In the war, Stagg escaped death when a [[Germany|German]] bullet struck a [[Bible]] that he carried in a pocket. Over the years, he often showed colleagues and friends the bullet scars in his Bible.<ref name=staggbio>{{cite web|url=http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/local/2015/06/24/tom-stagg-top-area-us-judge-dies/29201877/|title=Tom Stagg, top area U.S. judge, dies|author=John Andrew Prime|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref>​

While he maintained his law practice, Stagg was vice-president of King Hardware Company from 1955 to 1974. He was also the president of the Abe Meyer Corporation in Shreveport from 1960 to 1974, a firm found by his [[Jewish]] maternal grandfather, Abe Meyer (1852-1930), who had also been a vice president of City Savings Bank and Trust Company.<ref name=mrsstagg/> Stagg established local tire and rubber franchises in the Shreveport area and was a managing partner of the Pierremont Mall Shopping Center from 1963 to 1974. He was president of Stagg Investments, Inc., from 1964 to 1974. He has been a managing partner of Camellia Trading Company. He divested himself of most of his business dealings when he was sworn in as a judge.<ref name=fedjudgesdirectory>{{cite web|url=http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=2265&cid=999&ctype=na&instate=na|title=Thomas E. Stagg, Jr.|publisher=Biographical Directory of Federal Judges|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref>​

While he maintained his law practice, Stagg was vice-president of King Hardware Company from 1955 to 1974. He was also the president of the Abe Meyer Corporation in Shreveport from 1960 to 1974, a firm found by his [[Jewish]] maternal grandfather, Abe Meyer (1852-1930), who had also been a vice president of City Savings Bank and Trust Company.<ref name=mrsstagg/> Stagg established local tire and rubber franchises in the Shreveport area and was a managing partner of the Pierremont Mall Shopping Center from 1963 to 1974. He was president of Stagg Investments, Inc., from 1964 to 1974. He has been a managing partner of Camellia Trading Company. He divested himself of most of his business dealings when he was sworn in as a judge.<ref name=fedjudgesdirectory>{{cite web|url=http://www.fjc.gov/servlet/nGetInfo?jid=2265&cid=999&ctype=na&instate=na|title=Thomas E. Stagg, Jr.|publisher=Biographical Directory of Federal Judges|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref>​

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Stagg's most avid hobby was photographing wildflowers. Tom Arceneaux, a former member of the Shreveport City Council who clerked for Judge Stagg for two years, recalled that while Stagg was riding with Arceneaux, he would tell him to stop the car so that Stagg could get out to photograph some special flower that only he had seen.<ref name=staggbio/>​

Stagg's most avid hobby was photographing wildflowers. [[Tom Arceneaux]], a former member of the Shreveport City Council who was elected [[mayor]] on December 10, 2022, clerked for Judge Stagg for two years. Arceneaux recalled that while Stagg was riding with him, Stagg would tell him to stop the car so that he could get out to photograph some special flower that only he had seen.<ref name=staggbio/>​

==Political activities==

==Political life==

A [[Republican Party|Republican]] since 1949, Stagg as the GOP chairman for Louisiana's 4th congressional district, with then included seven parishes,  became involved in 1959 in an intra-party feud with the national committeeman, [[George Reese]], of [[New Orleans]], the party's U. S. Senate nominee in 1960 against [[Allen J. Ellender]], and [[LeRoy Smallenberger]], the Shreveport lawyer, party functionary, and subsequent state chairman from 1960 to 1964. Stagg objected when Reese endorsed, with Smallenberger in agreement, a slate of candidates for party position on both the state and parish committees. Stagg, backed by [[Charles T. Beaird]], the then chairman of the Caddo Parish Republican Executive Committee, described Reese as having attempted to assemble a group of "yes-men" and had hence "earned the enmity of a large number of fair-minded Republicans." Stagg compared such activities to those in the 1930s of former state party chairman John Ellett Jackson, Sr. (1892-1989), a New Orleans lawyer.<ref>"GOP Faction Fight Erupts Over Primary: 4th District Head Charges Attempt to Pack Committee", ''The Shreveport Times,'' December 2, 1959, p. 1.</ref> Reese, however, defended his endorsements, most of whom won their primary races, on the premise that he as a statewide party leader was obligated to recommend suitable candidates to rank-and-file voters.<ref>"Endorsements Defended by GOP Leader: Reese answers attack by Stagg as Faction Fight," ''The Shreveport Times,'' December 3, 1959, pp. 1, 4.</ref>

A [[Republican Party|Republican]] since 1949, Stagg as the GOP chairman for Louisiana's 4th congressional district, with then included seven parishes,  became involved in 1959 in an intra-party feud with the national committeeman, [[George Reese]], of [[New Orleans]], the party's U. S. Senate nominee in 1960 against [[Allen J. Ellender]], and [[LeRoy Smallenberger]], the Shreveport lawyer, party functionary, and subsequent state chairman from 1960 to 1964. Stagg objected when Reese endorsed, with Smallenberger in agreement, a slate of candidates for party position on both the state and parish committees. Stagg, backed by [[Charles T. Beaird]], the then chairman of the Caddo Parish Republican Executive Committee, described Reese as having attempted to assemble a group of "yes-men" and had hence "earned the enmity of a large number of fair-minded Republicans." Stagg compared such activities to those in the 1930s of former state party chairman John Ellett Jackson, Sr. (1892-1989), a New Orleans lawyer.<ref>"GOP Faction Fight Erupts Over Primary: 4th District Head Charges Attempt to Pack Committee", ''The Shreveport Times,'' December 2, 1959, p. 1.</ref> Reese, however, defended his endorsements, most of whom won their primary races, on the premise that he as a statewide party leader was obligated to recommend suitable candidates to rank-and-file voters.<ref>"Endorsements Defended by GOP Leader: Reese answers attack by Stagg as Faction Fight," ''The Shreveport Times,'' December 3, 1959, pp. 1, 4.</ref>

In 1969, Stagg continued to challenge political corruption and asked: "Government improprieties are a feature of our daily newspapers. ... Will it require revelation of further scandals, corruption, misgovernment, [[nepotism]], and just plain crookedness to gain reform in government?" His remarks came when the 28,000-member Louisiana GOP was seeking to increase membership to 200,000 in time for the 1972 election cycle.<ref>"Louisiana Republicans Push for 200,000 State Members," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' March 4, 1969, p. 2.</ref>

In 1969, Stagg continued to challenge political corruption and asked: "Government improprieties are a feature of our daily newspapers. ... Will it require revelation of further scandals, corruption, misgovernment, [[nepotism]], and just plain crookedness to gain reform in government?" His remarks came when the 28,000-member Louisiana GOP was seeking to increase membership to 200,000 in time for the 1972 election cycle.<ref>"Louisiana Republicans Push for 200,000 State Members," ''Minden Press-Herald,'' March 4, 1969, p. 2.</ref>

==Candidacy for Louisiana attorney general, 1972==

===Candidacy for Louisiana attorney general, 1972===

In 1972, Stagg was the Republican nominee for state attorney general on a ticket headed by [[Governor|gubernatorial]] candidate David Treen. Stagg was seeking to fill the seat being vacated by long-term Democratic [[incumbent]] Jack Paul; Faustin Gremillion (1914-2001), a protégé of the late [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]]. Gremillion had been eliminated in the 1971 party primary because of corrupt practices in office.​

In 1972, Stagg was the Republican nominee for state attorney general on a ticket headed by [[Governor|gubernatorial]] candidate David Treen. Stagg was seeking to fill the seat being vacated by long-term Democratic [[incumbent]] Jack Paul; Faustin Gremillion (1914-2001), a protégé of the late [[Earl Long|Earl Kemp Long]]. Gremillion had been eliminated in the 1971 party primary because of corrupt practices in office.​

===Defending a 1993 "junket"===

===Defending a 1993 "junket"===

Stagg came under fire from ''[[The Washington Post]]'' for his attendance at a Law and Economics Center seminar in 1993, when he was in his second year of senior status. The judge defied his critics, dismissed complaints about propriety, and declared that he would be eager for a second stay at the resort, Hilton Head Island, [[South Carolina]]. "The food was wonderful; the teachers were wonderful. If somebody doesn't like it, I'm sorry."<ref name=junkets>{{cite web|url=​

Stagg came under fire from ''[[The Washington Post]]'' for his attendance at a Law and Economics Center seminar in 1993, when he was in his second year of senior status. The judge defied his critics, dismissed complaints about propriety, and declared that he would be eager for a second stay at the resort, Hilton Head Island, [[South Carolina]]. "The food was wonderful; the teachers were wonderful. If somebody doesn't like it, I'm sorry."<ref name=junkets>{{cite web|url= http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju76383.000/hju76383_0f.htm|title=Junkets for Judges Undermine Public Confidence in the Judiciary ... Judge Tom Stagg of Louisiana responded...|publisher=commdocs.house.gov|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref> ''The Washington Post'' had revealed something which many citizens did not know: that federal judges, like congressmen, take "junkets", which are often never reported and that are sometimes of questionable value to the taxpayers who underwrite their salaries and benefits.<ref name=junkets/>​

http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/judiciary/hju76383.000/hju76383_0f.htm|title=Junkets for Judges Undermine Public Confidence in the Judiciary ... Judge Tom Stagg of Louisiana responded...|publisher=commdocs.house.gov|accessdate=June 24, 2015}}</ref> ''The Washington Post'' had revealed something which many citizens did not know: that federal judges, like congressmen, take "junkets", which are often never reported and that are sometimes of questionable value to the taxpayers who underwrite their salaries and benefits.<ref name=junkets/>​

==Recognition==​

==Recognition==​

[[Category:Photographers]]

[[Category:Photographers]]

[[Category:Politicians]]

[[Category:Politicians]]

[[Category:Judges]]

[[Category:Judges]]

[[Category:Republicans]]

[[Category:Republicans]]

[[Category:United States Army]]​

[[Category:United States Army]]​

[[Category:World War II]]​

[[Category:World War II]]​