La. Supreme Court rules in favor of hospitalized judge, allowing him to qualify for re-election
BATON ROUGE – The State Supreme Court has rule that Richard "Chip" Moore's campaign team can submit paperwork on his behalf while he's hospitalized with the coronavirus, allowing him to qualify for re-election in the fall.
State Judge Wilson Fields had ruled Thursday that Moore must abide by state requirements to get back on the ballot, which includes signing qualification documents. Moore, who is hospitalized on a ventilator battling COVID-19, cannot submit the documents himself.
Moore's team had filed appeals with the local Court of Appeals as well as the Louisiana Supreme Court. While the appeals court rejected the campaign team's appeal Friday, the State Supreme Court ruled in the judge's favor a short while later.
In the recent update from Judge Moore's family, the process to wean him off the paralytic has begun however he has developed a GI bleed and is undergoing a CT scan to try and find where it originated from.
Earlier in the week, his family says his condition is improving and could be taken off the ventilator if he continues to recover.
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“We are praying for a speedy recovery for our friend,” the campaign group wrote on Facebook.
In a handful of updates, his wife said Moore was in ICU and on a ventilator. He was undergoing a "final treatment attempt" Tuesday, she wrote.
"I watched this man train day in and out for three solid years to successfully complete an Ironman competition at the age of 50. He’s a fighter and he’s going to kick this virus’ butt," she wrote in a Facebook post shared by the judge's campaign.
Moore, 55, was elected to the 19th Judicial Court as a judge in 2005.
Moore had not been in his courthouse office in the days before falling ill, a court official told WBRZ Tuesday morning.
Court administrators are working on social distancing guidelines for in-person hearings.