Spat between AG Jeff Landry, ex-state Sen. Larry Bankston headed to Louisiana high court

A spat between Louisiana's chief legal officer and a former state lawmaker over who should represent Louisiana's contractor licensing board soon will be headed to the state's top court, the ex-legislator's attorney said Wednesday.

A state appeals court refused last week to reconsider its January ruling that the dispute between Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) and former state Sen. Larry Bankston (D) does not belong in the courts.

Bankston, who was found guilty in 1997 in a video poker-related bribery scheme and sentenced to nearly 3½ years in federal prison, sued Landry last year after Landry refused to extend Bankston's contract as legal counsel for the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.

Bankston had held that job since early 2016.

Landry originally questioned whether Bankston, a convicted felon who was temporarily disbarred, should be allowed to work for the state.

Read more: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/courts/article_a4d9559c-3ebb-11e9-92be-17c61c7b5339.html