He was a law clerk for Robert Collins of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court from 1972 to 1974.

[2] In 2009, Lemelle was assigned the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) case alleged against Renée Gill Pratt and Mose Jefferson, brother of former U.S. representative William J. Jefferson, who simultaneously stood indicted on sixteen counts in federal court in Virginia.

The younger O'Keefe was at the time the president of Citywide Mortgage Company of New Orleans.

He pleaded guilty to making false statements during a transaction with the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The three schools are subject to potential changes, depending on Lemelle's ruling on a 4-decades-old desegregation-related settlement.