[Editor's Note: Since publication of this article, candidate Anseman has vowed to appeal Judge Harris' ruling to the Third Circuit Court of Appeal — the very court for which she is campaigning.]
KATC TV-3 has just reported that state District Judge Alonzo Harris ruled Monday that candidate Vanessa Anseman is ineligible to run for the Third Circuit Court of Appeal. Anseman lacks the 10 years of experience required by the state constitution to seek an appeals court seat, the court found.
After a hearing Monday afternoon, state District Judge Alonzo Harris determined Anseman was ineligible based on a three-prong test: could she practice law, could she collect fees and could she appear in court. The answer to each question was no, Harris ruled, and that means the state's challenge to her eligibility was correct.
Harris ruled that Anseman is 50 days short of the required 10 years for the primary, which is later this month, and will be 16 days short of the run-off election in April.
Harris said Anseman has 24 hours to appeal his ruling.
The ruling came after a 30-minute recess this afternoon.
Read KATC's story from the Opelousas courthouse here.
The IND was first to report on questions of Anseman's qualifications in this story. We will have more on the 27th Judicial District Court ruling later this week.