Louisiana Supreme Court Museum named after retiring justice

NEW ORLEANS – Louisiana’s high court is naming its museum after retiring Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson, the first Black and second female to serve in that role on the court.

The Louisiana Supreme Court Museum includes portraits of all 25 Chief Justices who have presided over the court throughout history. Additionally, the museum contains a replica of the building, historical papers from the Plessy v. Ferguson case — the landmark 1896 U.S. Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the “separate but equal” doctrine — and information on New Orleans Colonial Law and Louisiana Civil Code.

The Museum is also home to the “Women in the Law” exhibit, a historical timeline chronicling women’s “firsts” achievements in law, highlighting their determination, commitment, and often under-recognized contributions to jurisprudence.

Johnson will retire on Thursday after more than three decades as a Louisiana judge and then justice.

“I have a commitment to the fair application of justice, first in my role as Chief Justice but also to leave a legacy to those who follow in my path as I was inspired by many of the jurists whose accomplishments are memorialized in the Chief Justice Bernette Joshua Johnson Supreme Court Museum,” Johnson said in a statement from the court. “I am pleased that the Museum further commemorates that commitment.”