Darrel James Papillion is an American lawyer from Louisiana who serves as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
From 1994 to 1995, Papillion served as a law clerk for Associate Justice Catherine D. Kimball of the Louisiana Supreme Court. From 1995 to 1999, he was an associate at McGlinchey Stafford A.P.L.C. and from 1999 to 2001, he was an associate at Moore, Walters & Thompson, A.P.L.C. From 2001 to 2009, he was a partner at Moore, Walters, Thompson, Thomas, Papillion & Cullens, A.P.L.C. From 2009 to 2023, he was a partner with Walters, Papillion, Thomas, Cullens, LLC in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a lawyer, he focused on product liability, personal injury, and wrongful death cases. Since 2000, he has been an adjunct professor at Paul M. Hebert Law Center and from 2005 to 2006 he was an adjunct professor at Southern University Law Center.
Notable Cases
Papillion served as co-counsel in Johnson v. Ardoin, a Voting Rights Act challenge to Louisiana’s 2011 congressional districts. Papillion represented the plaintiffs, nine African American voters who alleged the congressional map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
Papillion represented plaintiffs in English v. Ardoin seeking declaratory and injunctive relief preventing Louisiana’s Secretary of State from using the 2010 congressional districts reapportionment and redistricting map. The plaintiffs claimed the plan was violating the United States and Louisiana constitutions.
Federal Judicial Service
On March 20, 2023, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate Papillion to serve as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. President Biden nominated Papillion to the seat vacated by Judge Carl Barbier, who assumed senior status on January 1, 2023. On May 30, 2023, his nomination was confirmed and he received his judicial commission on June 1, 2023.
