[StBernard] Appeal court upholds disqualification of St. Bernard sheriff candidate

[Westley Annis]

Appeal court upholds disqualification of St. Bernard sheriff candidate
Posted by St. Bernard bureau September 24, 2007 11:31AM
St. Bernard bureau 

An appeals court has upheld a state judge's ruling disqualifying a candidate
for St. Bernard Parish sheriff for failing to meet a residency requirement. 

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeal panel voted 3-2 on Friday to affirm Judge
Manuel Fernandez's disqualification of Barry Bernadas, who has not lived in
the parish for a year as required by state law, according to court records.

Bernadas on Monday said he would appeal the ruling to the state Supreme
Court. 


Bernadas, a former FBI inteligence analyst, sold his storm-damaged Meraux
home six months after Hurricane Katrina and has been living with his wife
and six children in a Lakeview home he bought, the records indicate. 

Bernadas sought to have the one-year residency requirement waived under a
state law enacted in June 2006 to protect candidates involuntarily displaced
by a declared state emergency, such as Katrina.

But Fernandez ruled that Bernadas effectively waived his right to an
exception to the residency requirement when he sold his damaged home before
the law took effect. 

A majority on the appeallate panel agreed this is a "reasonable"
interpretation of the law, which does not set a time limit for how long
displaced candidates can be exempted from residency requirements.

Bernadas' candidacy was challenged in a court petition filed by Chalmette
resident Petrina Imbraguglio, who is the secretary for six-term Sheriff Jack
Stephens. 

In a separate development in the race for sheriff, Henry Maitre withdrew his
candidacy Friday.

That leaves three candidates challenging Stephens in the Oct. 20 primary:
Kirt Arnold, Larry Landry and Emile Pellittieri.