Jeffrey P. Victory

Jeffrey Paul Victory (January 29, 1946 – September 26, 2024) was a Republican former member of the Louisiana Supreme Court, having represented since January 1, 1995, the District 2 seat based in eleven parishes about his native Shreveport, Louisiana. He did not seek reelection in 2014 and left the court on January 1, 2015.

Jeffrey Paul Victory
Associate Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court (District 2)
In office January 1, 1995 – December 31, 2014
Preceded by	Pike Hall, Jr.
Succeeded by	Scott Crichton
Justice of the Louisiana Court of Appeal
In office 1991–1995
Born	January 29, 1946 Shreveport, Louisiana
Died	September 26, 2024 (aged 78) Shreveport, Louisiana
Political party	Democrat-turned-Republican (2004)
Spouse(s)	Nancy Clark Victory
Children	Paul Bradford Victory William Peter Victory Christopher Thomas Victory Mary Kathryn Victory Parents: Thomas Edward and Currie Esther Horton Victory
Religion	Southern Baptist
Military Service
Service/branch	Louisiana National Guard (Special Airborne Forces) (six years)

Background

Victory was one of seven children born to Thomas Edward Victory (1905-1969) and the former Currie Esther Horton (1908-1977), who are interred at Keatchie Cemetery in DeSoto Parish. In 1963, he graduated from C. E. Byrd High School in Shreveport as a member of the National Honor Society. He entered United Methodist-affiliated Centenary College in Shreveport on an athletic scholarship and graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor of Arts in history and government. While in college, Victory worked at the former Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant west of Minden and as a roughneck in petroleum production.

In 1967, he entered Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans on a regional scholarship. He served on the Tulane Law Review. While at Tulane, he enlisted in the Special Airborne Forces of the Louisiana National Guard. After graduation from Tulane in 1971, he practiced in the Shreveport firm of Tucker, Martin, Holder, Jeter, Jackson, & Victory.

Judicial tenure

In 1981, Justice Victory, then a Democrat, was elected to the First Judicial District Court in Caddo Parish, which includes Shreveport. In 1990, he was elected to the Second Circuit Court of Appeal, encompassing Caddo, Red River, and De Soto parishes. His term began on January 1, 1991. In the election held on October 6, 1990, he defeated fellow Democrat James E. Clark of Shreveport, 43,516 (55 percent) to 35,599 (45 percent).

On October 1, 1994, Victory contested the Supreme Court seat against fellow Democrats Henry Newton Brown, Jr., of Bossier City and Charles Scott of Shreveport. Brown led in the primary with 43,811 votes (37.5 percent), and Victory trailed with 36,522 votes (31.27 percent). Scott finished third with 36,480 votes (31.23 percent), only 42 votes behind Victory.

In the runoff held in conjunction with the general election of November 8, 1994, Victory prevailed over Brown, a former district attorney for Bossier and Webster parishes, 69,864 (53 percent) to 62,048 (47 percent). Supreme Court terms in Louisiana extend for ten years. A native of Bienville Parish, Brown is now the Chief Judge of the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Shreveport. He ran unopposed for the position in 2010 and his current term extends until December 31, 2020.

On January 8, 2009, Justice Victory swore into office the new Caddo Parish district attorney, the same Charles R. Scott, the Democrat who had lost to Victory for the runoff spot for the high court by forty-two votes fourteen years earlier.

In 2004, Victory ran for the first time as a Republican and defeated in the nonpartisan blanket primary the Democrat Stephen Beasley, 74,320 (60.9 percent) to 47,799 (39.1 percent). Victory led in five of the eleven parishes in the district encompassing northwestern Louisiana.

According to his obituary, Victory's judicial philosophy was "shaped by a unique combination of a strong moral compass and conservative leaning, but also a keen awareness of the value, and sometimes correctness, of opposing viewpoints. He loved to discuss all sides of an issue in detail and had the innate skill of finding the weakness in any legal argument. His law clerks knew better than to present him with any memo or draft opinion that did not include every relevant case and address every possible argument that challenged the premise of the ultimate conclusion. He left no stone unturned and taught his law clerks to leave no stone unturned. It's no wonder so many of his law clerks became judges themselves, as well as successful lawyers"

Throughout his career, Justice Victory consistently advocated for higher ethical and professional standards for judges and attorneys. He was a charter member of the Louisiana Sentencing Commission and has was a former director of the Louisiana Judicial College. He was a member of the National Lawyers Association and the American, Louisiana state, and Shreveport bar associations.

Consideration for chief justice

Meanwhile, Victory sought unsuccessfully to succeed Catherine D. Kimball of Ventress in Pointe Coupee Parish as the chief justice of the court. Kimball retired because of health problems on February 1, 2013. Victory and another justice, Bernette Joshua Johnson, an African American from New Orleans, claimed the right to succeed Kimball under the Louisiana Constitution, which directs that the longest-serving associate justice becomes the chief justice if a vacancy occurs prior to the next regular election. Johnson's service dates to 1994 when she was elected to a circuit judgeship but was instead appointed to the Supreme Court under a federal consent decree which temporarily increased the number of justices from seven to eight. Victory maintained that he is the legitimate successor because he was elected to the Supreme Court in 1994 while he was already a circuit court judge for nearly four years. The state Supreme Court declared Johnson the judge with the greatest seniority, and she succeeded Kimball.

Victory's Supreme Court seat was taken by another Republican, District Judge Scott Crichton, who was elected without opposition in the 2014 election. A former Democrat born in 1954, Crichton was an assistant district attorney in Caddo Parish from 1981 to 1990.

Personal life

Victory was a member of the committee which sought unsuccessfully to organize a new law school in downtown Shreveport through the auspices of Southern Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College in Pineville in central Louisiana.

Justice Victory and his wife, Dr. Nancy Clark Victory, have four children, Paul Bradford Victory and wife, Michelle, and their daughters, Madilynn and Elizabeth; William Peter Victory; Christopher Thomas Victory; Mary Kathryn Victory, and her sons, Jameson Walters and Prescott Walters. Victory attended Broadmoor Baptist Church in Shreveport, where he was director of the high school senior class. He often addressed Baptist groups even in neighboring states.

According to his obituary, Victory "built enduring friendships around common interests like tennis, motorcycles, and snow skiing. He was a talented athlete. Highly competitive, he was also legendary for his easy-going sense of humor. The moment he got his first job, he became a car enthusiast, owning a series of vintage cars, some of which he completely restored. Above all, he was committed to his family, whom he loved deeply and well. He never allowed career, hobbies, or anything else to take precedence over time with his wife and children."

Death and legacy

Victory died in Shreveport at the age of seventy-eight. His obituary closes: "His life of service and accomplishment was, above all, rooted in his faith in a Holy God, who has created each of us with value and purpose."

Gene Mills, head of the conservative Louisiana Family Forum, eloquently recalled Victory's career and personal life: "Justice Victory had a long and distinguished career. He is one of only a handful of judges to serve at each level of the state judiciary. He was elected to the district court in Caddo Parish in 1982 and then Court of Appeals in 1991 before he took his seat on the Supreme Court in 1995. Victory consistently advocated for higher ethical and professional standards for judges and lawyers. He was inducted into the C.E. Byrd High School Hall of Fame and the Centenary College Hall of Fame. In 2014, he traveled to Washington D.C., to accept the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform's Judicial Leadership Achievement Award. That same year, he also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Louisiana Family Forum. Jeff was known and respected for his carefully reasoned opinions, unquestioned integrity, and humility. His judicial philosophy was guided by a strong moral compass and conservative foundation. Jeff loaned his influence in the early days of Louisiana Family Forum's formation. His legacy remains intact in the Louisiana legal landscape and permanently embedded in the hearts of those he touched with care and concern for faith, family, and America’s experiment in liberty! Well done, good and faithful servant!"