Preceded by Bruce M. Bolin Occupation Attorney | Name Mike Nerren Political party Republican Party | |
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Born May 28, 1963 (age 60)
Place of birth missing ( 1963-05-28 ) Spouse(s) Suzanne Ondine Hutto Nerren Children Chance, Laurel, and Coleman Nerren Parents Fenely and Connee Smith Alma mater Haughton High School
Louisiana State University in Shreveport
Louisiana State University Law Center Education Louisiana State University in Shreveport | ||
Vote for Whit Graves on Dec 8
Michael Joe Nerren, known as Mike Nerren (born May 28, 1963), is the Division E judge of the 26th Judicial District Court based in Bossier and Webster parishes in northwestern Louisiana.
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Background
Nerren is the son of Fenely Smith, a former district chief for the fire department in Bossier City, Louisiana, and Connee Smith, a retired employee of the Bossier Parish Sheriff's Department. He graduated in 1981 from Haughton High School in Haughton in south Bossier Parish. Nerren received his undergraduate degree in 1989 from Louisiana State University in Shreveport and his Juris Doctorate in 1994, at the age of 31, from the Louisiana State University Law Center in Baton Rouge. He is a former president of the Bossier Bar Association and Bossier Dixie Baseball.
In 2007, Nerren became an assistant district attorney under DA Schuyler Marvin of Minden in Webster Parish. In that capacity, he served as the juvenile prosecutor and handled all cases of youthful offenders between the ages of ten and seventeen.
Nerren and his wife, the former Suzanne Ondine Hutto (born October 1968), a language arts teacher at Cope Middle School in Bossier City, have three children. They reside in Bossier City.
Legal career
A Republican, Nerren won his judgeship in 2012 to succeed the retiring Bruce M. Bolin, a Democrat who held the position judgeship from its creation in 1991 until his retirement in 2012. Bolin also formerly served in the Louisiana House of Representatives. The court is based in Benton, the seat of government of Bossier Parish.
In that election, Nerren was opposed by two other Republicans, Whitley Robert "Whit" Graves (born October 1954) and John Bernard Slattery, Jr. (born July 1955), the city judge in Springhill in northern Webster Parish. No Democrat entered the competition. In previous years, no Republicans would likely have filed for the judgeship, but party fortunes began to reverse themselves in down-ballot races in Louisiana early in the 21st century. In the 2012 contest, Whit Graves cited his thirty-five years of experience as a state trooper, prosecutor, and private attorney. Nerren, with then eighteen years of legal experience, twelve as a prosecutor, noted that he had prevailed early in his career in a jury trial against Graves acting in the role of the prosecutor.
Nerren and Graves led the primary field on November 6, and Judge Slattery, who finished in third place, was eliminated from contention. Nerren then defeated Graves in the second round of balloting on December 8. The vote was 7,390 (53.5 percent) to 6,412 (46.5 percent).
Nerren was one of several Republicans unopposed in the nonpartisan blanket primary held on November 4, 2014.