Richard Theodore Haik Sr. (born March 1, 1950) is a former

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 ...

Background

One of four children of Theodore Michael Haik, Sr., and the former Margaret Hannie, both deceased, Richard Haik was born in Lafayette but reared in

New Iberia New Iberia (; ) is the largest city in and the parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, Louisiana, Lafayette, and forms part of ...

, Louisiana. He graduated in 1968 from

Catholic High School Catholic schools are parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school system. In 201 ...

in New Iberia, where he was a three-year letterman in football and an all-state defensive end/fullback. In 1971, he received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

from the

University of Louisiana at Lafayette The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a Public university, public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana, United States. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus Universi ...

, then named the University of Southwestern Louisiana, where he was a four-year letterman in football for the Ragin' Cajuns. He received 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 ...

in 1975 from

Loyola University New Orleans College of Law Loyola University New Orleans College of Law is a private law school in New Orleans, Louisiana affiliated with Loyola University New Orleans. Loyola's law school opened in 1914 and is now located on the Broadway Campus of the university in the hi ...

. He was in the private practice of law in New Iberia from 1975 to 1984. From 1971 to 1978, he was a member of the

Louisiana Army National Guard The Louisiana Army National Guard (; ) is a component of the Louisiana National Guard, and the state's reserve force within the United States Army. The Constitution of the United States specifically charges the National Guard with dual federal ...

; from 1980 to 1984, he was a reserve captain in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

Personal

Haik and his wife, Kathleen, have three children. Elizabeth, Richard, and Mary Carolyn. Kathleen and Haik have 9 grandchildren.

Judicial career

In 1984, Haik was elected as a state district judge for the 16th Judicial District in New Iberia to the seat vacated by John Malcolm Duhé Jr., who became a federal district judge for the Western District of Louisiana under appointment from then

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Ronald W. Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party and became an important figure in ...

. Haik served on the state court until 1991. On April 11, 1991, Judge Haik was nominated to the

by President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

to the seat vacated by John Malcolm Duhé Jr. This was the second time that Haik assumed a bench vacated by Judge Duhé. Instead Duhé was elevated to the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is one of the 13 United States courts of appeals. It has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. Judge Haik was confirmed by 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 ...

on May 24, 1991, received his commission six days later, and was sworn in as a federal judge on June 14, 1991. He served as Chief Judge of the district court from 2002 until June 1, 2009. He assumed senior status on March 6, 2015. He retired from active service on January 15, 2016.

References

External links

*
Website of the Western District of Louisiana federal courts

Interview with Judge Haik
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haik, Richard Theodore Sr. 1950 births Living people American people of Lebanese descent Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana United States district court judges appointed by George H. W. Bush Louisiana state court judges United States Army officers Louisiana lawyers Loyola University New Orleans College of Law alumni Politicians from Lafayette, Louisiana People from New Iberia, Louisiana University of Louisiana at Lafayette alumni