James David Cain Jr. (born November 30, 1964) is a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (in case citations, W.D. La.) is a United States federal court with jurisdiction over approximately two thirds of the state of Louisiana, with courts in Alexandria, Lafayette ...

Education

Cain earned his

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

from

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

(where he was roommates with

Joe Dumars Joe Dumars III ( ; born May 24, 1963) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is the head of basketball operations for the New Orleans Pelicans. He could play either shooting guard or point guard on offense and was ...

) and his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

, ''cum laude'', from the

Southern University Law Center Southern University Law Center is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the historically black Southern University System and was opened for instruction in September 1947. It was authorized by the Louisiana State Board o ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

. Prior to entering law school, he served for three years as a congressional aide to Representative Jimmy Hayes, who served

Louisiana's 7th congressional district Louisiana's 7th congressional district was a congressional district in the U.S. state of Louisiana located in the southwestern part of the state. It last contained the cities of Crowley, Louisiana, Crowley, Eunice, Louisiana, Eunice, Jennings, L ...

from 1987 to 1997."President Donald J. Trump Announces Seventeenth Wave of Judicial Nominees", The White House, August 27, 2018

Career

Upon graduation from law school, Cain clerked for Judge Henry L. Yelverton of the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal. Before starting his own firm, he practiced for twelve years at Lundy & Davis. He is a founding member and former partner of the Lake Charles-based firm Loftin, Cain & LeBlanc, LLC, where his practice focused on civil litigation in state and federal courts. In 2024 McNeese State University conferred a honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree to McNeese alumnus the Honorable U.S. District Judge James D. Cain Jr. during the 162nd commencement ceremonies on May 10, 2024. “This is the highest honor that the university can bestow upon an individual,” said Dr. Daryl V. Burckel, McNeese president. “Judge Cain’s substantial achievements, passion for service, along with ardent support for McNeese State University and the state of Louisiana, clearly warrant the granting of the honorary doctorate.” Judge Cain also gave the commencement address to graduates during the ceremonies.

Federal judicial service

On August 27, 2018, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

announced his intent to nominate Cain to serve as a

for the

. On August 28, 2018, his nomination was sent to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

. President Trump nominated Cain to the vacated by Judge Patricia Head Minaldi, who assumed senior status on July 31, 2017. On November 13, 2018, a hearing on his nomination was held before the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

. On January 3, 2019, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the

. On January 23, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to renominate Cain for a federal judgeship. His nomination was sent to the Senate later that day. On February 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 20–2 vote. On June 18, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 76–20 vote. On June 19, 2019, his nomination was confirmed by a 77–21 vote. He received his judicial commission on June 25, 2019. Between 2020–2023, Cain handled 6,877 insurance cases, more than any other judge in the nation.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cain, James D. Jr. 1964 births Living people 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana Louisiana lawyers McNeese State University alumni People from DeRidder, Louisiana People from Lake Charles, Louisiana Southern University Law Center alumni United States district court judges appointed by Donald Trump