Biography of Patrick E. Carr; Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

Submitted by N.O.V.A. July 2005




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Patrick E. Carr, 75, Longtime Federal Judge



Patrick E. Carr, who spent almost 20 years as a U.S. district judge at the 

federal courthouse on Camp Street and gained the reputation of handing out 

toughsentences in criminal cases, died Monday of sepsis at Ochsner 

Foundation Hospital. He was 75.



Judge Carr, who lived in Metairie, was appointed to his Eastern District of 

Louisiana judgeship by President Carter in 1979 after four years as a judge 

of the state 24th Judicial District Court in Jefferson Parish.



He achieved senior judge status at federal court in 1991, which meant that 

he could reduce his caseload, but he kept working a full docket until less 

than a year ago, when he cut back to half a docket, said Chief Judge Morey 

E. Sear of the U.S. District Court.



"Pat Carr was a judge's judge. He was a straight arrow on whom I could, and 

often did, depend for sound advice and guidance," Sear said.



"We often sat in the judges' dining room after everyone was gone, and I 

would pick his brain," Sear said. "He could feel the pulse of the court and 

give it to me straight whether he thought I would like it or not."



Judge Carr's character is illustrated by a story told by one of his sons, 

Brian, Sear said: "Pat was an ardent fisherman. He loved to fish almost as 

much as he loved life itself. He most often fished alone, but one day he and 

Brian were fishing together when a game agent pulled alongside of their boat 

and was about to write a ticket when he recognized Judge Carr as the 

offender.



"He looked at Judge Carr and said, 'I sure can't give you a ticket, can I?' 

To which Pat responded, 'You better give me a ticket - that's your job.' "



In 1996, when Judge Carr sentenced a former treasurer of the Police 

Association of New Orleans to 21 months in prison for embezzling almost 

$200,000 from the organization, the judge said the sentence served a public 

purpose as "a notice to others that, if you conduct yourself in a similar 

manner, you're going to pay the penalty, too."



Judge Carr was born and grew up on a farm in Mississippi near the town of 

Paulding but said in later years that he never relished farm work.



He joined the Army Air Corps in 1942 when he was 19, dreaming of becoming a 

pilot, but his hopes were dashed by faulty depth perception. Nevertheless, 

he flew as a gunner on a B-24 bomber, seeing combat in Europe.



On his 40th mission, his aircraft was shot down over Budapest, Hungary, and 

he was captured and held by the Germans from August 1944 to April 1945. He 

was discharged a few months later.



He earned a law degree from Loyola University in 1950 and practiced 

privately in Metairie for 25 years until he became a Jefferson Parish judge.



He was active in the Veterans of Foreign Wars, assuming state leadership 

positions and serving as the organization's national commander in 1972-73. 

He also was a magistral knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.



Survivors include his wife, Jean Massey Carr; three sons, Stanley "Buddy" 

Carr of Baton Rouge and Brian and Patrick Carr Jr.; four daughters, Karen 

Krips of Bonn, Germany, Judy Wischkaemper of Covington, Janice Bruner of 

Mandeville and Mary Domingue of Franklin; and 10 grandchildren.



A Mass will be said Thursday at 11 a.m. at Lamana-Panno-Fallo Funeral Home, 

1717 Veterans Memorial Blvd., Metairie. Visitation will be today from 7 to 

10 p.m. and Thursday from 9 to 11 a.m. Another Mass will be said Friday at 

noon at St. Michael Catholic Church in Paulding. Burial will be in the 

church cemetery.





Source:  Times Picayune 06-3-1998