U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. Postpones Former BP Engineer’s Trial

Personal Life

Stanwood Richardson Duval, Jr. was born in New Orleans on February 8, 1942. He was raised in Houma, Louisiana, where his father, Stanwood Duval, Sr., ran a successful insurance business and was well known for getting involved in community affairs. In 1964, Duval graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. In 1966, he earned his J.D. from the LSU law school. From 1966 until 1994, Duval worked in the private practice of law in Houma. From 1970-1972, he also served as the assistant city attorney of Houma and from 1988 until 1993, he joined the Terrebonne Parish government.


In 1994, President Bill Clinton appointed Duval to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. On September 28, 1994, Duval was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

Although Louisiana legislature approved automobile license plates in 1999, which stated “Choose Life,” Duval issued an injunction in 2000 which prevented the state from releasing the plates. On April 13, 2005, Duval's ruling on the plates was unanimously overturned by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.

The judge is also well known for his 2005 and 2006 rulings, in which he referenced the constitutional rights of victims of Hurricane Katrina. Duval extended the time that hurricane evacuees could continue receiving taxpayer-funded hotel stays. On November 19, 2009, he also delivered a ruling asserting that the Army Corps of Engineers were careless in upholding flood protection that caused significant flooding during Hurricane Katrina. On March 3, 2012, the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with Duval's ruling and supported his judgment that the Army Corps of Engineers had unsuccessfully maintained the Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet.

U.S. District Judge Delays Mix's Trial

On Monday, January 14, 2013, U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. decided to postpone the trial of Kurt Mix, a former BP engineer accused of removing text messages about the company's reply to the tragic oil spill that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. According to an Associated Press article on ABC News, “Federal Judge Delays Ex-BP Engineer's Trial,” Mix's trial was suppose to start on February 25, 2013. After Duval spoke to prosecutors and defense attorneys, he thought it would be best to schedule Mix's trial on June 10, 2013. The judge is giving more time to prosecutors and defense attorneys so they can prepare for trial.

The AP editorial reports that Mix, a resident of Texas, was employed by BP and he tried to prevent oil from gushing from the leaking well in the Gulf. Mix has been charged with two counts of obstructing justice, which he pleaded not guilty to in May 2012. He allegedly deleted text messages to a contractor and a supervisor so they wouldn't be used against him in court.

The AP column on ABC News noted that the criminal charges filed against Mix were high priority in the Justice Department's investigation of the April 2010 oil spill, which killed eleven workers and devastated marine life in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the AP article on ABC News, the Justice Department has also indicted three other former or current BP employees. Donald Vidrine and Robert Kaluza who are BP well site leaders will face manslaughter charges. David Rainey, former BP executive, has been indicted for suppressing information from congress about how much oil was released from the well once it exploded.

The AP editorial on ABC News pointed out that BP will plead guilty to a number of charges including obstruction of congress as well as manslaughter. BP will pay $4.5 billion in fines.

According to the AP column on ABC News, Mix's charges stated he was directed to hold onto his text messages and any spill-related records. He is being accused of erasing three hundred text messages he delivered to an outside contractor who was responsible for resolving the oil spill and to a supervisor who worked as BP's drilling engineer manager for the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the AP article on ABC News, Mix's attorneys believe their client has been forthright in not only retaining any spill-related records, but also delivering these records to the Justice Department. Mix's attorneys stated that the evidence they turned over to the Justice Department will assist them in prosecuting Rainey as well as BP. The editorial also reports that if the BP men are found guilty on obstruction of justice charges, they will most likely face twenty years in prison and pay up to $250,000 in penalties.