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BATON ROUGE, La (BRPROUD) – It’s a welcome like none other for the newest judge in Baton Rouge’s 19th Judicial District Court.

“She’ll be much closer now. So, I’m happy to see her drive in the parking lot and I don’t know when she leaves and when she comes” said Judge Donald Johnson. “I’m going to leave her in the dust. I’m going to catch up real fast, real fast”.

Long time 19th JDC judge Donald Johnson is talking about his niece, Eboni Johnson-Rose; just elected to the bench.

“Not only for our family, but for anyone that looks like us… they too could rise to a certain level of success” Johnson-Rose said.

Johnson-Rose’s success comes after a lengthy career in public service; working first as an associate in a private law firm, before spending more than a decade as a trial attorney for the state of Louisiana.

In December, East Baton Rogue residents voted overwhelmingly to elect Johnson-Rose, making her not only the first or second Johnson judge to serve on the bench at one time, but the third! Johnson-Rose’s father, Ronald, previously joined his twin brother Don on the bench in 2019.

“We want others to know that if you live a certain life, if you have principles and morals and you stand on your beliefs, that you too can obtain what we have been able to” said Johnson-Rose.

The Johnson’s success comes as a result of decades of hard work and perseverance. The Johnson brothers grew up poor in East Baton Rouge parish and believing education was key, they helped integrate schools in the Capital City, as they continued prioritizing education for themselves and their families.

“So, once a decision to do that, led to another choice, led to another decision” said Judge Ronald Johnson. “We have been churning that butter, so to speak, ever since. To make it better and better for others to follow” he said.

Now, that legacy flows through three Johnsons in the 19th JDC and while they come from the same family with the same name, you might expect to see something a little different in the new year.

“I like to call myself the Joshua generation, they’re the Moses generation” said Johnson-Rose. “I plan on doing much more in the community then what they’ve done because one generation should always exceed the previous generation” she said.