Jesse J. Guidry

Jesse J. Guidry
Louisiana State Representative for St. Martin and Iberia parishes
In office 1973–1981
Governor	David C. Treen
Preceded by	J. Burton Angelle
Succeeded by	Harry L. Benoit
Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
In office 1981–1984
Preceded by	J. Burton Angelle
Succeeded by	J. Burton Angelle
Personal details
Political party	Democratic
Parents	Thomas D., Sr., and Therese Angelle Guidry
Residence	Cecilia, Louisiana, US

Not to be confused with Dick Guidry, another Louisiana state representative

Jesse J. Guidry (dates of birth and death missing; probably March 21, 1921 – September 2, 1987) was a Democratic politician from Cecilia in St. Martin Parish in South Louisiana, who served from 1973 to 1981 as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives during the first two administrations of Governor Edwin Washington Edwards.^[1]

Early life

Guidry was the son of Thomas D. Guidry, Sr. (1895-1965), and the former Therese Angelle (1893-1963). He had a sister, Elizabeth L. Castille (1930-2013) of Breaux Bridge in St. Martin Parish,^[2] and a brother, Thomas Guidry, Jr. (February 23, 1932 – July 5, 2015), an accountant from Cecilia.

Political career

Guidry won a special election in 1973 to succeed Representative J. Burton Angelle, who became the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries in the first two Edwards administrations. Coincidentally, eight years later, Guidry himself succeeded Angelle as LDWF secretary in the single term of Republican Governor David C. Treen. Guidry's House tenure had also spilled over into the first year of the Treen administration.

While he was LDWF secretary, Guidry was sued by Voison's Oyster House, Inc., of Houma in Terrebonne Parish on grounds that Guidry had denied the company oyster leases. The trial court ordered summary judgment on grounds that Guidry was exempt from suit in federal court under the Eleventh Amendment to the United States Constitution (1791), which requires that suits filed against states be heard in state courts. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans affirmed the Eleventh Amendment in 1986 and ordered dismissal of Voison's suit, not on the merits, but on the lack of proper jurisdiction.^[3]

When Edwards returned to the governorship in 1984 after having unseated Treen, Angelle succeeded Guidry for a third term as the LDWF secretary.^[4] Like Guidry, Angelle had ties to Cecilia.

In 1988, the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries headquarters in the capital city of Baton Rouge was named in Guidry's honor.^[5]

References

1. "Members of the Louisiana House of Representatives, 1812-2016: St. Martin Parish" (PDF). house.louisiana.gov. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
2. "Elizabeth Guidry Castille". pellerinfuneralhome.com. March 19, 2013. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
3. "Voisin's Oyster House, Inc., et al., Plaintiffs-appellants, v. Jesse J. Guidry, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, Defendants-appellees, 799 F.2d 183 (5th Cir. 1986)". law.justia.com. September 8, 1986. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
4. "James Burton Angelle, Sr.". Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. August 28, 1997.
5. "2011 Louisiana Revised Statutes: Title 56 — Wildlife and Fisheries: RS 56:7.1 — Jesse J. Guidry Center for Wildlife and Fisheries Resources". law.justia.com. 1988. Retrieved September 2, 2015.