Dee D. Drell

Dee Dodson Drell
Senior Judgeof theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Incumbent
Assumed office November 30, 2017
Chief Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
In office October 15, 2012 – November 2, 2017
Preceded by	Robert G. James
Succeeded by	S. Maurice Hicks Jr.
Judge of theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
In office April 10, 2003 – November 30, 2017
Appointed by	George W. Bush
Preceded by	F. A. Little Jr.
Succeeded by	David C. Joseph
Personal details
Born	Dee Dodson Drell (1947-11-04)November 4, 1947 New Orleans,Louisiana, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Relations	Cleveland Dear(great-uncle by marriage)
Education	Tulane University(BA,JD)

Dee Dodson Drell(born November 4, 1947) is aseniorUnited States district judgeof theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana,based inAlexandria,the seat ofRapides Parishand the largest city inCentral Louisiana.

Biography

Drell was born inNew Orleans,Louisiana,to Theodore Louis Drell, Jr. (1913–2006) and the late Mrs. Drell. The Drells had three other children, Theodore L. Drell, III, Robert L. Drell, and Barbara Drell Allen. Drell obtained both hisBachelor of Artsin anthropology and hisJuris Doctordegrees fromTulane UniversityandTulane University Law Schoolin 1968 and 1971, respectively.

Drell served in theUnited States ArmyJudge Advocate General's office from 1971 to 1975, based part of the time inColumbus, Georgia.He entered private practice in Alexandria in 1975. Bush nominated him to succeed JudgeF. A. Little Jr.,of Alexandria. Like Judge Little, Drell was affiliated with the firm Gold, Weems, Bruser, Sues & Rundell prior to joining the bench.

Drell has been active in state and local bar associations, and he assisted the state bar with attorney disciplinary matters. He was a board member of the Family Mediation Council of Louisiana from 1986 to 1992 and a member of the Rapides Parish Indigent Defender Board from 1987 to 1994. He served on a state task force on racial and ethnic fairness in the courts. He is a member ofKiwanis International.

Judge Drell also devoted time on apro bonobasis to helping individuals suffering fromAcquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.He counseled the Central Louisiana AIDS Support Services and AIDSLaw of Louisiana, Inc. In 1997, he received the Pro Bono Publico Award from AIDSLaw of Louisiana. Drell and his family areEpiscopalian.

Federal judicial service

Drell was nominated by PresidentGeorge W. Bushon January 15, 2003, to a seat on theUnited States District Court for the Western District of Louisianavacated by JudgeF. A. Little Jr.He was confirmed by theUnited States Senateon April 9, 2003 by a 99–0 vote.He received commission on April 10, 2003. He served as Chief Judge from 2012 to 2017. He assumedsenior statuson November 30, 2017.

Though Drell is considered aconservativeRepublican– he donated $300 to defeated GOP congressional candidateClyde C. Hollowayeven after Bush tendered the nomination – he drew the praise of one of the Senate's mostliberalmembers,DemocratPatrick LeahyofVermont.At the time of the nomination, Leahy, then the ranking member on theSenate Judiciary Committee,described Drell as "a lawyer’s lawyer, rather than a political or judicial activist," a category in which Leahy placed many of Bush's district and circuit court nominees.

Ending desegregation cases

Judge Drell has tangled with longstanding schooldesegregationlawsuits, filed in the 1960s, which brought area parishes under the scrutiny of the federal court to guarantee that the districts were working toward a racially unitary school system. Drell approved school campus and grade assignments forNatchitoches Parish.He also ended the desegregation suit against Rapides Parish in 2006and againstGrant Parishin 2007. He declared that both districts were in substantial compliance with applicable nationalcivil rightslaws and educational regulations. One of Drell's predecessors,Nauman Scottof Alexandria, had periodically monitored the Rapides and Grant parish systems for many years to seek compliance with federal law.

External links

• Dee D. Drellat theBiographical Directory of Federal Judges,a publication of theFederal Judicial Center.