Loyola honors longest serving La. Supreme Court Justice

NEW ORLEANS - Former Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero Jr. was recently honored by Loyola University College of Law.

Calogero, the longest serving justice in the history of the La. Supreme Court, received the 2013 St. Ives Award. The award is the highest honor awarded by the College of Law Alumni Association and is presented to a notable alum each year.

Loyola presented Calogero with a Juris Doctorate in 1954, after he served as editor in chief of the school's law review, as well as the Louisiana Bar Foundation’s Distinguished Jurist Award and an honorary doctor of laws degree in 1991.

Shortly after receiving his J.D., Calogero entered the U.S. Army and later served as a law clerk for the Orleans Parish Civil District Court from 1958 until his election to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 1972.

During his tenure on the high court Calogero served on court's Judicial Council, Judicial Ethics Committee, as state court representative to the National Center for State Courts, as chairman of the Supreme Court Budget Committee and as chairman of the Judicial Budgetary Control Board. He was re-elected to the court three times before retiring in 2008.

“During my 36 years on the Louisiana Supreme Court and 20 years practicing law, I strived always to honor the principles of law and social justice that I was taught at Loyola. It would require a tome unto itself to recognize the many talented law clerks and tremendous Supreme Court staff who helped in my effort to lead our judiciary in service to all of Louisiana’s people," Calogero said. "I am grateful to so many others, especially to my wonderful family, without whom my career could not have attracted an honor such as Loyola’s prestigious St. Ives Award."

His tenure as Chief Justice of the La. Supreme Court began in 1990 during which time he served as chief administrative officer of the Louisiana Court System, chairman of the Judicial Ethics Committee, the Judicial Council, the Human Resources Committee and as a member of the National Conference of Chief Justices.

Calogero spearheaded numerous judiciary reform in Louisiana, which served as national models for court improvement. He participated in more than 6,000 orally argued cases and authored more than 1,000 majority opinions in addition to concurrences and dissents during his career.

Following his retirement from the court Calogero established a private firm focusing on civil appellate cases.

He is married to Leslie Langhetee and father of 10 children including Debbie Calogero Applebaum and David, Pascal III, Elizabeth, Thomas, Michael, Stephen, Gerald, Katie and Chrissy Calogero.