Judge Danny Ellender serves on the Second Circuit Court of Appeal. Prior to beginning his term in January of 2023, Judge Ellender served for 14 years as a District Judge on the Fourth Judicial District Court for Morehouse and Ouachita parishes.
Following graduation from LSU Law School, Judge Ellender began his legal career in Shreveport as a law clerk for the Second Circuit, both on central staff and then for Judge, now retired Justice, Jeff Victory. Judge Ellender and his wife Amy, who also clerked for Justice Victory, then opened their own law firm together in northeast Louisiana, where he practiced for 15 years until his election to the district court bench. In addition to a general civil law practice, Judge Ellender also worked as an assistant district attorney and, before that, as a federal indigent defender.
A graduate of the Louisiana Judicial Leadership Institute, Judge Ellender has been active on various state-wide boards for the administration of justice, including serving on the Louisiana State Law Institute, the Judicial Council of the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Supreme Court’s Committee on Judicial Ethics, the Board of Governors for Louisiana’s Judicial College and the Louisiana District Judges Association Executive Committee.
Judge Ellender and his wife Amy are the proud parents of six children and two grandchildren. They are active members of St. Joseph Catholic Church in Morehouse Parish.