Our client, a registered voter in Orleans Parish, filed a Petition for Action Objecting to Candidacy on Thursday, August 13, 2026. The case went to trial the following Monday before Judge Omar K. Mason of Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans.
On August 5, 2026, Mark Lawes qualified to run for Constable of First City Court for the City of New Orleans. His notice of candidacy carried the certification the Election Code requires: that for each of the previous five tax years he filed his federal and state income tax returns, filed for an extension, or was not required to file. La. R.S. 18:463(A)(2)(a)(iv). A false certification is a ground to object to a candidacy. La. R.S. 18:492(A)(7).
Through a public records request the Louisiana Department of Revenue confirmed that Mr. Lawes did not file a 2021 Louisiana income tax return.
The Department’s records made a prima facie case and shifted the burden to Mr. Lawes to prove his certification was true. He testified that his tax preparer told him he did not need to file a return. The preparer did not appear to testify. Mr. Lawes also introduced his own 2021 Forms 1099-G and 1099-INT, which reported $16,957 in unemployment compensation and $292 in interest income.
His own paperwork ended the defense. For 2021, the federal exemption amount was zero, unemployment compensation is taxable income, and every individual required to file a federal return must also file a Louisiana return. 26 U.S.C. §§ 151(d)(5), 85(a), 6012(a)(1)(A); La. R.S. 47:101(A)(1). The Court held:
“[T]he uncorroborated affidavit of the tax preparer and the uncorroborated testimony of Mr. Lawes was insufficient to rebut the Plaintiff’s prima facie showing that Mr. Lawes’s attestation that he was not required to file his 2021 tax return on his notice of candidacy was false.”
Judge Mason ruled from the bench, sustained Ms. Paul’s petition, and disqualified Mr. Lawes from the race. The written Reasons for Judgment and Judgment were signed on August 18, 2026. Mr. Lawes did not appeal. Four days passed from filing to judgment.
Paul v. Lawes, No. 2026-07363, Div. “E” (Civ. Dist. Ct. Parish of Orleans Aug. 18, 2026).
You can read coverage of the ruling here and here and here, or see see the Court’s Reasons for Judgment and Judgment at the link below.
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