When Morris Michael Haik III was sworn in as new District Attorney for the 16th Judicial District on March 17, there was no feeling of celebration or accomplishment for the seasoned attorney. 

Haik, now on his second stint with the district attorney’s office, had always planned to eventually run for the top spot but never wanted to challenge Duhe, his longtime friend and mentor. 

Following Duhe’s passing on March 15, Haik became acting district attorney. On Thursday, at an event where Duhe was supposed to introduce Haik as his eventual successor, Haik and his family formally announced his campaign for the Oct. 11 election.

Continuing a legacy

There’s no question that Duhe left his mark on the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office. After being elected without opposition to his first term in 2014, Duhe immediately began work to shift the focus of the DA’s office to the victims, ensuring that those who experienced crime in Iberia, St. Martin or St. Mary Parishes would see justice done. After winning reelection in 2020 with two-thirds of the vote, Duhe continued to improve and reform the office, embracing changes in technology and working hard to ensure that both punishment and leniency were handed out as needed. 

That legacy is something that Haik says he intends to keep growing during his tenure. 

According to Haik, former district attorney Bernie Boudreaux would often tell his assistants that he would never question their actions as long as they always did the right things for the right reasons. That slogan became something that Duhe took to heart.

“In the time that I’ve been here, that’s something that (Duhe) has always said to us,” Haik said. “‘Do the right things for the right reasons’. He valued loyalty a lot and, if he trusted you, he didn’t bother you too much about what you were doing.”

That freedom allowed Duhe’s ADAs to flourish and set up the office for success for his eventual departure, not knowing that it would happen so suddenly. 

The chosen successor

Haik has long been Duhe’s heir apparent. 

Despite leaving the DA’s office to go into private practice with his father, Haik knew that he would eventually want to return and run for the office from the inside rather than as an outsider. When he first proposed the idea to Duhe, he was welcomed back with open arms. 

Haik, a Catholic High graduate who earned both his undergraduate and law degrees from LSU, said that an opportunity to represent the people of his hometown is his life’s calling.

Spending time in both the DA’s office and in private practice gives Haik a unique perspective to practicing law. 

“I’ve seen it from both sides and I’ve seen enough to be able to tell a criminal from someone with an addiction,” Haik explained. “Having that perspective is important, and it gives me a lot of experience to bring to this office.”

That experience was valued highly by Duhe, who penned a letter in support of Haik’s eventual campaign to district attorney.

 Thinking outside the box

While Haik has made it clear that he intends to keep all of the best programs and policies from Duhe’s tenure in place, he isn’t afraid to make changes when he sees a need. 

One of his first acts as district attorney was to issue guidance to the law enforcement officers in the tri-parish area advising them to begin processing gun charges with the same care and attention to detail as a homicide. This, Haik believes, is the key to combatting crime in an area where few are willing to talk with investigators to help put criminals behind bars.

Haik’s focus now is on two specific gun crimes: felons in possession of a firearm and firearms in the presence of a controlled substance. According to Haik, coming down hard on these two crimes is an important first step in curbing gun violence in the area. 

“It’s not a campaign slogan, my children are scared to death to go to a parade,” said Haik. “You saw what happened at the St. Martinville football game, it’s disgusting. I have skin in the game, I’m not going anywhere. I don’t think it’s a secret that the agencies are having a hard time building good cases in a lot of these homicides. They might think that they know who is committing the murders, but it’s hard to get enough proof because nobody will talk. In response to that, we’re cacking down hard on felons in possession of a firearm. We’re no longer offering probation on that.”

According to Haik, any felon caught with a firearm or person caught with drugs and a gun can expect a much harsher minimum sentence than in the past. 

“In the past, some people were getting probation for that, but I have nixed that. If you are a felon in possession of a firearm, the offer is 15 years or you can roll the dice and go to trial,” he said. “The same thing goes for those who are caught with a firearm while in possession of controlled substances. If they look like a drug dealer, they’re not getting probation, even for a first offense. We’ve got to clean up the streets and the neighborhoods. It’s obvious that people don’t want to talk, so we’re going to find another way to clean it up.” 

The changes are being welcomed by law enforcement officers. At Thursday’s campaign launch event at Le Triomphe Golf & Country Club, sheriffs Tommy Romero (Iberia), Becket Breaux (St. Martin) and Gary Driskell (St. Mary) were all in attendance to lend their support for Haik and his upcoming campaign. 

Next steps

Haik now has to focus on carrying out the duties of district attorney while also running his first campaign for the position. 

Luckily for him, running the 16th Judicial District Attorney’s Office isn’t exactly new. 

As Duhe’s health continued to worsen, Haik began taking on more and more of his responsibilities, eventually taking over the role full time in December. 

Haik is hoping that his past experience, along with a successful stint as DA from now until the election, will be enough to convince voters that he is the man for the job. 

The election is scheduled for Oct. 11, 2025. For more information about this election or any other, visit geauxvote.com or download the GeauxVote app.