SHREVEPORT, La. - It is with profound sadness that U.S. Attorney Stephanie A. Finley announces that Civil Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Broadwell passed away today after a long battle with cancer.
AUSA Broadwell had more than 30 years of experience practicing law, with the majority of those years at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Shreveport Division. Mr. Broadwell received his undergraduate degree from the University of New Orleans in 1979 and his law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans in 1983. That same year, he married his way to Shreveport and joined a small firm that engaged primarily in civil litigation. Not long after that, he joined the Caddo Parish District Attorney’s Office where he initially handled appeals and later handled misdemeanors and felonies as a litigating Assistant District Attorney. In January of 1987, Mr. Broadwell joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office and handled appeals to the Fifth Circuit for approximately three years before joining the Civil Division. He served 13 years as the Deputy and Civil Chief of the Civil Division from April 1989 to February 2002 and later served as litigator handling a wide variety of civil matters. AUSA Broadwell served the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice with distinction under five Presidents.
“John was a special kind of leader in our office. I was fortunate to know him for many years and have shared numerous conversations on a variety of topics, but the lasting lesson that will stay with me is his example of how to walk gracefully when confronted with mortality. I have never seen someone more courageous, caring and at peace with life and death. John wanted everyone else, despite the heaviness of his diagnosis, to be okay. He served this District admirably, with great pride and distinction," Finley stated. “His wit, experience, and commitment to the Western District of Louisiana and the Department of Justice will be sorely missed by all. The value of his service cannot be measured. We ask for prayers and support for his family during this time of grief."
In the 2014 August/September Edition of the Louisiana Bar Journal, John Broadwell said his goodbyes to his Louisiana colleagues in the legal profession in an open letter to the Louisiana Bar Journal. The letter can be viewed online on page 170 at.
John is survived by his wife, Diane Davis Broadwell, two children, Christopher Moore Broadwell and Heather Diane Broadwell, granddaughter, Hattie Broadwell, mother, Laura Jean Broadwell, and brothers, Dr. Larry K. Broadwell and Terry D. Broadwell. Plans for a memorial service are pending.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
