Hughes asked for $10 million. The jury was split and deliberated 45 minutes.

PLAQUEMINE -- A jury awarded Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Jeff Hughes $300,000 Monday after finding that The Advocate defamed him in a 2019 editorial. Hughes had asked for $10 million.

The jury deliberated for 45 minutes after a weeklong trial in Iberville Parish. Jury foreman Robert E. Davis told The Advocate that six of the 12 jurors initially said they did not believe Hughes had been defamed. The other six wanted to award $500,000. They compromised at $300,000.

"People were ready to get the hell out of here," Davis told The Advocate.

Under Louisiana law, at least 10 of 12 jurors must concur to render a civil verdict. That means at least four of the six jurors who initially said Hughes was not defamed changed their vote during 45 minutes of deliberation.

One of Hughes's attorneys, Chuck Hughes, told The Advocate: "We are pleased that justice was served and Jeff was able to clear his name from this unfortunate defamation."

The trial

The weeklong trial before 18th Judicial District Judge J. Kevin Kimball featured three plaintiff expert witnesses, two days of testimony from Hughes himself, and a string of character witnesses. The plaintiff rested without calling a single Advocate reporter, editor, or employee to testify about the newsroom's state of mind when the editorial was published. That state of mind is central to actual malice, the standard Hughes had to prove.

Defense attorney Scott Sternberg told Kimball he was "shocked" when the plaintiff rested, according to trial transcripts. Kimball denied a motion for directed verdict.

18th Judicial District Attorney Tony Clayton enrolled as counsel for Hughes during jury selection, conducted voir dire, and was not present for the remainder of the trial. Clayton had previously represented Hughes in the case and personally negotiated a jury waiver with the defense in 2022.

Hughes testified over two days that The Advocate destroyed his reputation and refused to correct the editorial after he met with editors and showed them documents. On cross-examination, defense attorney Suzy Montero confronted Hughes with the fact that he had sued Sternberg and his law firm in the same case, and asked whether he was aware that the Louisiana constitution prohibits judges from practicing law.

The experts

The plaintiff's first expert, Keith Fisher, a judicial ethics professor from Miami, told the jury he found no evidence Hughes violated any ethical rule. On cross, defense attorneys showed Fisher documents his own side never provided: court minutes showing Hughes made an interim custody ruling three days after Durbin withdrew, the apology letters, and the 2021 censure records. Fisher admitted he had never seen any of them.

Leelannee K. Malin, PhD, a mass communications professor at Xavier University and Georgetown University, testified that The Advocate's coverage failed to comply with SPJ, AP, and PRSA ethics codes. The Advocate offered no expert witnesses of its own.

Woody Jenkins, editor of the Central City News, was qualified as an expert in journalism ethics. After the trial concluded, Jenkins published a front-page article about the verdict in his own newspaper without disclosing his role as an expert witness in the case.

Political consultant Scott Wilfong, who ran Hughes's 2012 Supreme Court campaign, testified he tried to place a paid advertisement in The Advocate to publicize a procedural victory Hughes won in this case. He said he did not believe the newspaper would report on it voluntarily. The plaintiff also called the retired superintendent of Livingston Parish Schools and Hughes's sister as character witnesses.

The defense case

Brenda Nicholson, the grandmother at the center of the custody case, testified she confronted Hughes about his relationship with Durbin and asked him to recuse himself. Hughes refused, she said. She described her grandson Austin's burns, her arrest, and 11 days in jail.

Hughes sent Nicholson an apology letter years later. She kept it in a weathered briefcase alongside photos of her grandson. "It was like a slap in the face," she told the jury, according to trial transcripts.

David Fleming, a retired engineer from New Iberia, testified he had a custody case before Hughes while Durbin was dating the judge. "She wins every case in front of Jeff," Fleming testified, according to trial transcripts. When he asked around, people told him, "Well, that's his girlfriend."

Where the case was tried

Hughes filed the lawsuit in Iberville Parish in 2020. He lives in Livingston Parish. The Advocate is headquartered in Baton Rouge. The custody case took place in Livingston Parish.

The 18th Judicial District Court serves Iberville, West Baton Rouge, and Pointe Coupee parishes.

What happens next

The Advocate is expected to appeal. The actual malice standard is reviewed de novo on appeal, meaning the appellate court examines the evidence independently rather than deferring to the jury's finding.

Hughes and his attorneys did not respond to a request for comment from WBR Independent. The Advocate's attorneys did not respond by publication.

This is Part 2 of WBR Independent's trial coverage. Part 1 is available at wbrindependent.com.

Disclosure: Sternberg, Naccari & White LLC, which represents The Advocate in this case, also serves as local counsel for WBR Independent in a separate public records matter. WWL-TV, which has reported on this case, is also represented by Scott Sternberg in a separate matter.

This report is based on court filings, published court decisions, open courtroom proceedings attended by WBR Independent, rough trial transcripts, and published reporting by The Advocate, WWL-TV, and Yahoo News.

John Summers is the editor and publisher of WBR Independent. Contact him at editor@wbrindependent.com.