James David Caldwell Sr., known as Buddy Caldwell (born May 20, 1946), is an American attorney and politician from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He served as

Attorney General of Louisiana The office of attorney general of Louisiana () has existed since the colonial period. Under Article IV, Section 8 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the attorney general is elected statewide for a four-year term and is the chief legal officer of t ...

from 2008 to 2015.

Career

Caldwelll was elected Attorney General of Louisiana elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, defeating Republican

Royal Alexander Richard Royal Alexander, known as Royal Alexander (born February 18, 1966), is an attorney, writer, and former politician in his native Shreveport, Louisiana. In 2007, he was the Republican candidate for Louisiana Attorney General. In addit ...

. He became a member of the Republican Party in 2011. Prior to his party switch, he was the only Democratic

state attorney general The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the District of Columbia, federal district, or of any of the Territories of the United States, territories is the chief legal advisor to the State governments of the United States, sta ...

to challenge the constitutionality of the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

(ACA). Caldwell was reelected in the 2011 Attorney General election without opposition after his sole opponent, former U.S. Representative

Joseph Cao Ánh Quang "Joseph" Cao ( ; ; born March 13, 1967) is a Vietnamese Americans, Vietnamese-American politician who was the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 2009 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United ...

, dropped out of the race. Caldwell lost his

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

reelection bid to Republican

Jeff Landry Jeffrey Martin Landry ( ; born December 23, 1970) is an American politician and attorney who has served as the 57th governor of Louisiana since 2024. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th attorney general of Louisiana from 201 ...

. In 2018, the interim

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Tallulah, Louisiana Tallulah ( ) is a city in, and the parish seat of, Madison Parish in northeastern Louisiana, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,286, down from 7,335 in 2010. As this was historically a center of agriculture since th ...

, appointed Caldwell as interim city attorney. In 2008, the murder conviction of Angola inmate Albert Woodfox was overturned by a federal judge. Caldwell appealed the decision to overturn Woodfox's conviction, despite significant evidence that Woodfox had not committed the crime. Woodfox speculated that Caldwell may have been using the appeal in order to gain public attention for himself as the recently appointed Attorney General of Louisiana.When questioned in a
interview
by NPR's Laura Sullivan about a bloody fingerprint found at the scene of the crime that was proven not to belong to Woodfox, Caldwell replied, "A fingerprint can come from anywhere."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caldwell, Buddy 1946 births American male singers American people of Russian-Jewish descent District attorneys in Louisiana Jewish American people in Louisiana politics Living people Louisiana attorneys general Louisiana Democrats Louisiana Republicans Singers from Louisiana People from Columbia, Louisiana People from Tallulah, Louisiana Songwriters from Louisiana Tulane Green Wave football players Tulane University Law School alumni Players of American football from Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana American male guitarists 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews American male songwriters Jewish American players of American football Jewish state legislators in Louisiana

Career

See also

References