<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=3TVtKI_0m8aGJCn00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3TVtKI_0m8aGJCn00" width="1200" height="840" ></figure>Simone Levine on Saturday won a seat on the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court bench, besting Leon Roché in a runoff to replace retiring Judge Laurie White.Levine, a former prosecutor, defense attorney and Court Watch NOLA leader, received the support of 18,389 voters, compared to the 17,503 votes won by Roché, according to the final but unofficial tally. Turnout for the runoff election, which was held on the first Saturday of Jazz Fest, was under 14%.A native New Yorker, Levine, 47, has degrees from McGill University, the University of Connecticut School of Law and the University of Puerto Rico School of Law. In addition to having served in the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office, Levine was a deputy police monitor in New Orleans and a criminal defense attorney in New York.Both candidates ran on a pledge to increase transparency on the criminal court bench, promising to continue virtual court proceedings. Levine also vowed to create a restorative justice program if she won the seat in Section A.The two candidates, both Democrats, had narrowly advanced to the runoff over Diedre Pierce Kelly, an attorney with a number of high-profile endorsements who was disqualified from a 2020 bid.Levine had secured 34.3% of that vote to Roché's 33.6% and Pierce Kelly's 32.1%.</div></body>

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Simone Levine wins race for Orleans Parish Criminal District Court seat

Simone Levine on Saturday won a seat on the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court bench, besting Leon Roché in a runoff to replace retiring Judge Laurie White. Levine, a former prosecutor, defense attorney and Court Watch NOLA leader, received the support of 18,389 voters, compared to the 17,503 votes won by Roché, according to the final but unofficial tally. Turnout for the runoff election, which was held on the first Saturday of Jazz Fest, was under 14%.