Cloud’s suit dismissed again

Judge Joel Davis again dismissed a civil lawsuit filed by Turkey Creek Mayor Heather Cloud, in the same courtroom he dismissed the lawsuit earlier this month. Both were civil hearings and did not involve juries.
During the earlier hearing, the judge dismissed the case without hearing any witnesses or accepting documents into evidence. The plaintiff appealed the case to the Louisiana Supreme Court, which remanded the case back to Judge Davis in the Evangeline Parish Courthouse.
The Supreme Court assigned Judge Davis to the case after the two Evangeline Parish judges recused themselves.
At issue was Cloud’s assertion that a supporter of the defendant, Stanley Leger, paid four people $15 each to vote for Campbell, who won the election with a vote of 110 to 106. There were no other candidates in the race.
Plaintiffs wanted the judge to nullify the four votes, making the vote a tie, and to order a new election. The trial began Monday, November 24, at 10 a.m. and ended the next day at 4:30 p.m.
After several witnesses for the prosecution and for the defense testified and final attorney summations, the judge said there was evidence that $15 was given and accepted in order to purchase votes, and both are violations of state law. However, he said his reading of the law does not give his court in Ville Platte the authority to alter the outcome of the elections or call for new elections.
Contacted a day after the court adjourned, Cloud said that instead of feeling disappointed she felt vindicated because of the judge’s finding of illegal activity.
She also said the close vote in the Turkey Creek mayor’s race showed that every vote counts, and said her motive in continuing the civil suit was “to protect the sanctity of the vote.”
She said her attorneys will appeal the case to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Lake Charles and it could be heard as early as next week. She said the case could eventually end up in the Louisiana Supreme Court.
One of Cloud’s attorneys at the trial, State Senator Elbert Guillory of Opelousas, said the day after the trial adjourned that while the four people who allegedly received money for their votes were granted immunity, he believes it is a “significant probability” that anyone giving money in exchange for agreements to vote a certain way could face state criminal charges.
Four plaintiff’s witnesses testified they were taken from Turkey Creek to Ville Platte for early voting in late October. As the vehicle carrying them left Turkey Creek, they were each given an envelope that had $15 in cash and a paper that had the vote number of several candidates, including Campbell.
Two of the plaintiff’s witnesses, Michelle and Ricky Haviland, said they were not aware that being paid to vote a certain way was wrong.
Michelle Haviland said, “I didn’t know who I was voting for,” because she referred to the piece of paper with eight to 10 numbers on it, corresponding to the candidate ballot numbers. “I thought that was normal,” she testified, adding, “I thought that’s what you’re supposed to do.”
She said she had received money for voting a certain way before. “I didn’t know it was selling,” my vote. “I did what I was told to do.” At that point in her testimony, Judge Davis told the people in the packed courtroom not to make loud sounds.
The next witness was her husband, who said he also voted according to the numbers he had been given, and never looked at the names on the ballots in the voting booth.
When Cloud heard about the incident, she asked the Havilands, and two others to sign affidavits describing the incident involving receiving the cash and voting instructions. Ricky Haviland said signing the affidavit “freaked me out” because he didn’t think it was illegal to be paid to vote for certain candidates.
The Havilands testified that they were upset when they became aware they voted against Cloud.
Leger, who testified for the defense late in the trial, said he got word that the Havilands had informed Cloud that he had given them money to vote. He said he confronted the Havilands, but testimony over what was said then were conflicted.
Under cross examination by one of the plaintiff’s attorneys, Ann Watson, Leger was asked what he gave each of the four people, when he picked them up. He said he gave them only the paper with the ballot numbers. When asked why he needed to include one piece of paper in an envelope, he said that was to help prevent the four voters from misplacing the papers with the ballot numbers.
Testimony differed on whether another of the four people Leger drove to early voting in the parish courthouse, Grace Carpenter, was informed she would be the “lead clown” in the Turkey Creek Christmas parade.
Testimony also differed over whether her son, Todd Tomerlin, the fourth person driven to the courthouse to vote, was promised a bicycle for his vote. But the person who offered the bicycle testified that his decision to give Tomerlin a bicycle had nothing to do with voting.
The case also involved a mother and daughter and conflicting testimony over contacts they had with Leger.