Kurt D. Engelhardt
Kurt Damian Engelhardt (born 1960) is the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Engelhardt received a B.A. from Louisiana State University in 1982 and a J.D. from Louisiana State University Law Center in 1985. He was a law clerk to the Hon. Charles Grisbaum of the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1985 to 1987. He was in private practice in Louisiana from then until 2001.
On September 4, 2001, Engelhardt was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana vacated by Morey L. Sear. Engelhardt was confirmed by the United States Senate on December 11, 2001, and received his commission on December 13, 2001. He has served as Chief Judge since October 1, 2015.
Judge Engelhardt gained notice as the judge who sentenced the police officers who shot and killed two unarmed civilians and covered it up during the Danziger Bridge shootings on the Danziger Bridge in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, aggravating the offenses by appearing to justify them under the color of law, conspiracy and obstructing justice (misprision of a felony) by stating in official reports that an officer had been down and that they had been attacked. The lightest sentence was six years for obstruction, another officer who had helped kill the two was sentenced to 65 years; one remains to be tried and sentenced on conspiracy and obstruction charges. The convictions were subsequently vacated for prosecutorial misconduct.
