Changes

After his tenure as attorney general, LeBlanc was soon elected as a [[judge]] of the 19th Judicial District in East Baton Rouge Parish, a position which he assumed on April 11, 1958.<ref name=chs/> In this capacity in the summer of 1959, LeBlanc signed the long-remembered letter which committed his old rival, Earl Long, to undergo psychiatric treatment for paranoid [[schizophrenia]].<ref name=gbooks/> Long later said that signing the order was the "happiest day" of Judge LeBlanc's life.<ref name=gbooks/>  

After his tenure as attorney general, LeBlanc was soon elected as a [[judge]] of the 19th Judicial District in East Baton Rouge Parish, a position which he assumed on April 11, 1958.<ref name=chs/> In this capacity in the summer of 1959, LeBlanc signed the long-remembered letter which committed his old rival, Earl Long, to undergo psychiatric treatment for paranoid [[schizophrenia]].<ref name=gbooks/> Long later said that signing the order was the "happiest day" of Judge LeBlanc's life.<ref name=gbooks/>  

Judge LeBlanc was also known for imposing stiff penalties and sky-high [[bail]] on civil rights demonstrators who came before his court.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=7idHI9KdCfwC&pg=PA293&lpg=PA293&dq=when+was+sargent+pitcher+the+district+attorney+in+Baton+Rouge%3F&source=bl&ots=9HoIUheuHx&sig=vD_aN0UjREIq5fArw1k0haMoa5o&hl=en&ei=5esKTY2MKsGB8gb446yyDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=when%20was%20sargent%20pitcher%20the%20district%20attorney%20in%20Baton%20Rouge%3F&f=false|author=Adam Fairclough|title=Race and Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915-1972|publisher=Athens, [[Georgia]]: [[University of Georgia]] Press, 1995|page=293}}</ref>w, p. 293|accessdate=December 16, 2010}}</ref>

Judge LeBlanc was also known for imposing stiff penalties and sky-high [[bail]] on civil rights demonstrators who came before his court.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=7idHI9KdCfwC&pg=PA293&lpg=PA293&dq=when+was+sargent+pitcher+the+district+attorney+in+Baton+Rouge%3F&source=bl&ots=9HoIUheuHx&sig=vD_aN0UjREIq5fArw1k0haMoa5o&hl=en&ei=5esKTY2MKsGB8gb446yyDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=when%20was%20sargent%20pitcher%20the%20district%20attorney%20in%20Baton%20Rouge%3F&f=false|author=Adam Fairclough|title=Race and Democracy: The Civil Rights Struggle in Louisiana, 1915-1972|publisher=Athens, [[Georgia]]: [[University of Georgia]] Press, 1995|page=293|accessdate=November 12, 2020}}</ref>

In December 1965, LeBlanc presided over a death-penalty case in Baton Rouge stemming from the shooting of a convenience store clerk. A [[capital punishment]] watchdog group claimed that the trial was "rife with serious constitutional errors: suppressed mitigating evidence, perjured testimony, and ineffective assistance of counsel." Repeatedly, Judge LeBlanc refused defense requests to delay the trial.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capitalpunishmentbook.com/?p=234|author=Billy Sinclair|title=A Death Penalty Trial|publisher=capitalpunishmenbook.com|date=1965|accessdate=September 10, 2010}}</ref>

In December 1965, LeBlanc presided over a death-penalty case in Baton Rouge stemming from the shooting of a convenience store clerk. A [[capital punishment]] watchdog group claimed that the trial was "rife with serious constitutional errors: suppressed mitigating evidence, perjured testimony, and ineffective assistance of counsel." Repeatedly, Judge LeBlanc refused defense requests to delay the trial.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.capitalpunishmentbook.com/?p=234|author=Billy Sinclair|title=A Death Penalty Trial|publisher=capitalpunishmenbook.com|date=1965|accessdate=September 10, 2010; information no longer on-line}}</ref>

LeBlanc died while still serving as a district judge. He was succeeded by John S. Covington, the appointee of Governor [[John J. McKeithen]].  

LeBlanc died while still serving as a district judge. He was succeeded by John S. Covington, the appointee of Governor [[John J. McKeithen]].