BEN CLAYTON SHARES HIS HEART
Some have asked Ben, “Why are you running for Division G instead of another Division?”
In his own words:
“My decision to become a candidate for District Court Judge was the product of much prayer over the course of time. The decision was not made hastily or without much consideration and counsel.
I Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." I have believed and practiced that for a long, long time. Frequent prayer has helped me immensely in life.
The decision to run for Division "G" rather than another division results from guidance received from seeking the Lord, the answer to prayer being, "how can I benefit young people most?" Division "G" hears the cases involving juveniles. My 39+ years of courtroom and trial experience have equipped me to hear many different types of cases, but I have a keen interest in seeing young people helped and benefited. I have represented individuals, businesses, corporations and other business entities and insurers. I have handled personal injury (plaintiff and defense), worker's compensation (claimant and defense), Child In Need of Care (CINC), maritime law, constitutional issues, successions, business matters, interdictions, criminal defense and a large variety of other types of legal matters. These experiences will enable me to adjudicate a large variety of types of cases, but I am especially interested in the welfare of our youth.
Young people can be prone to making mistakes. Some of those mistakes are more easily corrected than others. Some are very serious. But every case deserves to be heard, and the judge should give careful consideration to the facts and circumstances of the matter and the applicable law. A judge should not pre-judge any matter, but should listen carefully to all of the relevant evidence and then render a fair and appropriate decision.
Life's experiences have also contributed to equipping me for the role of judge, including the hearing of juvenile matters. I was a Boy Scout summer camp counselor at Camp Salmen near Slidell, Louisiana every summer from 1974 to 1980, except for the summer of 1977. I worked with young men, teaching them various outdoors skills, swimming, canoeing and rowing, lifesaving and life skills. (The picture above is from Camp Salmen when it was still a boy scout camp.) As a pastor in a non-denominational Christian church since 2000, I have ministered to young people (and everyone else, too), whether instructing, counseling, driving the church van to pick up children to attend church services, in music ministry and otherwise. I have also ministered to incarcerated youth at the juvenile detention center in Jefferson Parish. In addition, I have handled a large number of Child In Need of Care (CINC) cases. My experience in working with and ministering to people--of all ages-- is not limited to the practice of law, but has been where the rubber meets the road.
