Eric LaFleur

Kenneth Eric LaFleur (born March 28, 1964), has been a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 38 (Evangeline and St. Landry parishes) since 2000. He was first elected without opposition to an open seat vacated by Dirk Deville. He was then re-elected four years later in 2003 with 81% of the vote.

He lives in Ville Platte with his wife, the former Julie Morein LaFleur, a physician's assistant at the Intensive Care Unit at St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria. LaFleur is a partner in the law firm of Mahtook & LaFleur. The firm consists of fifteen attorneys with offices in Ville Platte, Opelousas, Lafayette, and Houston, Texas. He graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, having earned a bachelor of arts in French, economics, and history. He earned his law degree from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1991. His legal practice focuses primarily on transactional work: residential, commercial and public finance. He is a "Red Book" listed bond attorney.

His district includes almost all of Evangeline Parish and a large part of the rural portion of St. Landry Parish. He was the first freshman legislator elected as chairman of the Acadiana delegation in 2001. In 2006, he was selected by his fellow members as the first ever Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. He serves on the following committees: Appropriations, Criminal Justice, Agriculture, Joint Budget and as a member of the House Legislative Council. Before entering private practice, LaFleur served as a felony prosecutor under District Attorney Harry Connick in New Orleans and for the Louisiana Department of Justice under Richard Ieyoub. During his years as prosecutor, LaFleur handled in excess of 1,000 felony cases including 50 plus jury trials.

Recent legislation spearheaded and passed by LaFleur included the "Castle" doctrine legislation, "House Bill 1097" backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), that provided civil immunity to victims of crime who lawfully use deadly force to protect themselves and their families against a violent attack. A companion bill "House Bill 89", also by Representative LaFleur, and supported by the NRA created presumptions in law for the use of force against intruders in your home, car or place of business and explicitly states in law that you have no “duty to retreat” from criminal attack if you are in a place where you have a legal right to be.

He also promoted and passed ethics reform legislation prohibiting fundraisers during legislative sessions and the application of ethics reporting rules for those people lobbying or trying to influence non-elected executive level employees. In 2007, he and fellow Representatives, Michael Jackson and Don Cazyoux, filed additional ethics reform measures requiring income disclosure for members of the Louisiana House of Representatives.

Eric LaFleur is the son of Dwight LaFleur, a lifelong resident of Ville Platte, a retired merchant and former Air Force fighter pilot. His mother, Flo Brown LaFleur, was raised on a rice farm in Chataignier, Louisiana, and worked as a registered nurse. Eric LaFleur is the fourth of five children in the LaFleur family. His wife, the former Julie D. Morein, was born and raised just outside of the city limits of Ville Platte, Louisiana. Her father is a farmer and her mother a teacher. She graduated from L.S.U. "magna cum laude" and earned her Master’s Degree from the University of South Alabama. She is employed as a Physician’s Assistant in the Intensive Care Unit at Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana. On June 17, 2008, the couple had a son named Atticus Yves LaFleur.

LaFleur speaks French, plays saxophone in the band Déjà Vu, and is currently training for his private pilot license.

External links

* [http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Reps/members.asp?ID=38 Louisiana House profile]