Royce Duplessis is an American attorney and politician serving as a member of the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (french: Sénat de Louisiane) is the upper house of the state legislature of Louisiana. All senators serve four-year terms and are assigned to multiple committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate is composed ...

for the 5th district. He assumed office on December 6, 2022. On November 8, 2022, Duplessis defeated

Mandie Landry Mandie Landry is an American attorney and progressive politician serving as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from the 91st district. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. Elected in November 2019, she assumed ...

in a special election to fill the vacant 5th district seat.

Early life and education

Duplessis was born and raised in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Xavier University of Louisiana Xavier University of Louisiana (also known as XULA) is a private, historically black, Catholic university in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only Catholic HBCU and, upon the canonization of Katharine Drexel in 2000, became the first Catholic ...

and a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

Howard University School of Law Howard University School of Law (Howard Law or HUSL) is the law school of Howard University, a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is one of the oldest law schools in the country and the ol ...

Career

Prior to his election to the State Senate, Duplessis served in the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (french: link=no, Chambre des Représentants de Louisiane) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 re ...

representing the 93rd district. He assumed office in 2018 after winning a special election. Prior to the 2018 election, Duplessis served as chief of staff to New Orleans City Councilman James Carter and special counsel to the Louisiana Supreme Court. Duplessis is the owner of a private law firm, Duplessis Law Firm, LLC, where he specializes in civil litigation cases. Duplessis announced his candidacy to fill the District 93 seat in a 2018 special election. Duplessis placed first in a field of four candidates. A champion of criminal justice reform, Duplessis authored House Bill 678 in 2021, creating the Louisiana Work Opportunity Tax credit. The tax credit incentivizes businesses to hire re-entrants participating in work release programs. Duplessis has also fought for many women's health and rights efforts, including authoring and passing House Bill 784, The Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders Act, to help deal with Louisiana’s maternal and infant mortality rates. The bill requires all hospitals and birthing centers to provide women with information about postpartum depression, its symptoms and treatment and other resources before discharge. On June 9, 2022, Duplessis announced that he was running in the special election to succeed senator

Karen Carter Peterson Karen Carter Peterson (born November 1, 1969) is an American lawyer and former politician who served as a member of the Louisiana State House from 1999 to 2010, then as the state senator from the 5th district until her resignation in 2022. She a ...

. On November 8, 2022, Duplessis was elected to fill the vacant fifth district seat in the

. On December 6, 2022, Duplessis was sworn into the Louisiana State Senate.

Personal life

Duplessis lives the

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city ...

neighborhood with his wife, Krystle, and their one daughter.

References

Living people Politicians from New Orleans Xavier University of Louisiana alumni Howard University School of Law alumni Louisiana lawyers Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American politicians African-American Catholics {{Louisiana-politician-stub