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The United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, continues to monitor the most current statements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as all communications disseminated by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), regarding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).  The Court is following recommended guidelines from public health officials and preparedness guidance from the AO.  Currently, there has been no adjustment in court operations, except as listed below: Please note that if you have traveled to China, Italy, Iran, or South Korea within the last 14 days; reside or have had close contact with someone who has traveled in one of the above areas within the last 14 days; have been asked to self-quarantine by any hospital or health agency; or have been diagnosed with, or have had contact with, anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, you must inform the Court Security Officers (CSOs) upon entering the courthouse and will be restricted from entering the building.  If you are so affected and are an attorney scheduled to appear before the Court in the near future, you must notify the Court so that appropriate safeguard measures can be taken.  You may appear via teleconference or video-conference where the technology is available and with the approval of the presiding Judge.  

On February 18, 2020, the U. S. District Court hosted an African American History Month program entitled After the Middle Passage: The American Slave Trade from 1808 to 1865.  The program focused on the U.S. domestic slave trade and spoke to New Orleans’ role as the largest slave market in antebellum America.  It was presented by historian Erin Greenwald, Vice-President of Content at the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and Curator of the Historic New Orleans Collection’s Purchased Lives. To complement the presentation, the Historic New Orleans Collection provided its Purchased Lives traveling exhibit.  The impeccably designed exhibit consisted of 5 banners with front and back representations of artwork, documents, artifacts, and other materials unique to the American slave trade.  The program was well-attended by attorneys, state and federal judges, and other members of the legal community.  The court thanks the following agencies and organizations that helped plan the event:  GNO Louis A. Martinet Society, Association for Women Attorneys, Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Bar Association, EDLA Federal Public Defender’s Office, EDLA United States Attorney’s Office, and EDLA United States Probation Office.

Hard-working, highly organized, extremely knowledgeable, disciplined, and experienced, all are attributes of William (“Bill”) Blevins who served as the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for Eastern District of Louisiana (“EDLA”) from May, 2013, when he was selected to be the Clerk following the retirement of Loretta Whyte, until January, 2020.  During his over six and one-half year tenure in the Eastern District of Louisiana, Bill’s leadership and skilled management moved the Clerk’s Office forward in such diverse areas as Information Technology/Systems, Financial Administration and Budget, Shared Administrative Services, and Operations.  He worked with three Chief Judges in the Eastern District of Louisiana, including current Chief Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown, who became Chief Judge in 2018, District Judge Sarah S. Vance who served as Chief Judge from 2008 to 2015, and who was serving as Chief Judge when Bill was appointed Clerk of Court in 2013, and Circuit Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, formerly EDLA District Judge and EDLA Chief Judge from 2015 to 2018.     During Bill’s long and distinguished career with the Judiciary, he has served as the Chief Deputy Clerk for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, and for the twelve years preceding his term in the Eastern District of Louisiana, Clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida.  A native of Norfolk, Virginia, and former resident of Richmond, Virginia, Bill earned both a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the University of Richmond.  Bill and his wife, Malinda, have four adult children.  On January 6, 2020, Bill returned home to Richmond, Virginia, where many members of his and his wife’s family reside, to serve as the Chief Deputy Clerk of Operations for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Bill shepherded to successful completion an astonishing number of updates, upgrades, new projects, initiatives, transitions and changes, touching virtually every unit in the operations, technological, and administrative areas of the office.  He was responsive to the requests and needs of the judges but also implemented programs to meet staff needs. He provided superb mentoring and advice to his staff and deeply cared about the court and doing the very best job that he could.  He and his family became true New Orleanians, participating fully in the unique culture of our city.  We wish him the very best as he and Malinda move back home to Virginia.  He will be sorely missed. (*A full length version of this article is featured in the current (Winter 2020, Vol.  29, No. 2) issue of the New Chapter of the Federal Bar Association’s Advocate.)