1st black La. Supreme Court justice dies at 84
Attorney News 2008/06/23 07:29
Revius Ortique Jr., the first black justice on the Louisiana Supreme Court, has died of complications from a stroke. He was 84.
Current Supreme Court Justice Kitty Kimball says Ortique died Sunday.
Ortique was elected to the court in 1992, but had to step down two years later when he reached the state's mandatory retirement age for judges at 70.
As a civil rights lawyer in the 1950s and '60s, he helped integrate state labor unions and sued to get equal pay for black workers.
He held several presidential appointments, including a stint as an alternate delegate to the United Nations under President Clinton.
