Chief Judge John Michael Guidry has been a member of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal since 1997. On January 1, 2023 he made history when he became the 15th Chief Judge of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal and the first African American to hold that position in the more than 100-year history of the court. Prior to being elected to the Court of Appeal, he served five years as a member of the Louisiana State Senate and served a year prior to that as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Chief Judge Guidry is a former Assistant Parish Attorney for the City of Baton Rouge and the Parish of East Baton Rouge. He is a former Assistant Clerk of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Additionally, he maintained a private general law practice prior to his election as judge. Chief Judge Guidry is a past President of the Board of Directors of the Louisiana Judicial College and a member of the Louisiana Judicial Council. Chief Judge Guidry is an Adjunct Professor at the Southern University Law Center and a past adjunct professor at the Nelson Mandela School of Public Policy at Southern University-Baton Rouge. He is a frequent CLE lecturer. Chief Judge Guidry is a member of several professional organizations including the American and National Bar Associations, the American Judges Association, the Louisiana Bar Association, the Louisiana Judicial Council of the National Bar Association, the Baton Rouge Bar Association, and the Louis A. Martinet Legal Society. He is also a member of the Baton Rouge Bar Association’s Pro Bono Committee and the Louisiana Protective Order Registry’s Domestic Violence Curriculum Development Advisory Committee. Chief Judge Guidry received his B.A. in Political Science from Louisiana State University and his Juris Doctorate from the Southern University Law Center, graduating Cum Laude.