Press Release: Legal Lines with Locke Meredith
Attorney General Buddy Caldwell: Show # 107
Attorney Locke Meredith interviews current Louisiana Attorney General, Buddy Caldwell to discuss his role as Attorney General and his recent petition regarding the new healthcare law passed by the Federal Government.
Caldwell served for twenty-nine years in five consecutive six-year terms as District Attorney is his hometown of Talulah, LA. Caldwell personally tried all the major felony cases that came to his office. In his twenty-nine years, he lost only two cases, with a ninety-nine percent conviction rate. During his time as DA, Caldwell was asked to serve the role of Attorney general seventy times, for various reasons, and he also trained prosecutors for the Attorney General’s office. Caldwell also managed to bring his district to have the highest per capita child support recovery in the state.
As Attorney General, Caldwell represents both the State of Louisiana as well as the millions of Louisianians. Medicaid issues, price-gouging issues, contracting issues,
and other legal issues are the types of things Caldwell deals with. Lately, Caldwell has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the State which claims the recent Federal mandate on all Americans to buy health insurance in unconstitutional. This was a suggestion by Governor Bobby Jindal, and not an original case, but one that Louisiana signed onto with another state.
Currently insurance is regulated on a state by state basis, but the new law makes the mandatory insurance purchase a national requirement. As Attorney General, Caldwell seeks to retain the power of the states over the Federal Government.
Other issues Caldwell has dealt with as Attorney General include: Chinese drywall and the problems that we faced after the hurricanes including fraud, contracting issues, and price gouging. Caldwell also had to fight against the NFL to allow the Saints to keep “Who Dat” and the fleur de lis. Caldwell’s basic job as Attorney General is to protect and empower both the state as a whole, and the citizens as individuals, and he seems to be doing an excellent job.
