WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), introduced U.S. district judge for the Western District of Louisiana (Lake Charles) nominee James D. Cain at today’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
Lake Charles has not had a sitting federal judge for over a year.
Cassidy previously introduced Louisiana judicial nominees Kurt Engelhardt, Barry Ashe, Terry Doughty, Michael Juneau, Kyle Duncan, Wendy Vitter, and Robert Summerhays at their respective hearings.
A full transcript of Dr. Cassidy’s remarks are transcribed below.
[I am pleased to] voice my support for Louisiana native James Cain, who has been nominated to be United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana. He has the qualifications and experience required.
He’s joined today by his wife, Angie, with whom he will soon be celebrating 25 years of marriage. Mr. Cain has two daughters: Juliana, a junior at the University of Texas, and Haley-Beth, a freshman at SMU.
Mr. Cain attended McNeese State University in Lake Charles on a full basketball scholarship, where—and I think this is the most interesting thing about Mr. Cain—he was roommates with future NBA star Joe Dumars. After getting his degree in economics and finance from McNeese, he went on to attend law school at Southern University Law School in Baton Rouge, where he graduated cum laude.
Mr. Cain has had an outstanding legal career. He clerked for the Honorable Judge Henry Yelverton in the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals. He received valuable experience in the DA’s office of Beauregard Parish. And he’s been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, as well as the Eastern, Middle and Western Federal District Courts of Louisiana.
Mr. Cain started in the private sector and at Lundy & Davis, [LLC], becoming a partner after four years at the firm. In 2006, he became a founding member and partner at the Lake Charles firm of Loftin, Cain & Leblanc, where he still practices. He has extensive courtroom experience in a wide range of areas, including product liability, business and commercial litigation, worker’s comp, and health care, to name a few.
His exemplary work as an attorney has earned him a peer review ranking of “A.V. Preeminent” by Martindale-Hubble, and the American Bar Association has given Mr. Cain the rating of “Well Qualified” based on his integrity, professional competence and judicial temperament.
He’s a member of the American Bar Association, the Louisiana Bar Association, and the Southwest Louisiana Bar Association. He’s also served on the boards of St. Louis Catholic High School, Our Lady Queen of Heaven Trust Board, the Calcasieu Parish Crime Stoppers, and the McNeese Alumni Association Board, where he is the immediate past president.
Mr. Cain also shares his passion for the legal profession by his involvement with the American Inns of Court, where he mentors young attorneys in professionalism and practice.
James Cain is an excellent choice to fill this vacancy in the Western District of Louisiana. I
recommend him to this committee without reservation and urge swift confirmation.
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