John Belton is a career prosecutor who has dedicated 32 years to serving his community as an advocate for law and order and community safety. On November 4, 2014, he was elected District Attorney for The Third Judicial District, which includes Lincoln and Union Parishes. He was re-elected in 2020 without opposition.
John served as a past Vice President and President of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association and as a past Vice President of the National District Attorneys Association of which he is also a Board Member.
He is a former Board Member of the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement; a Member of the Louisiana Livestock Brand Commission; a former Member of the University Medical Center Management Corporation which is a key partner of LSU Health Science Center New Orleans, Tulane University School of Medicine, and other academic institutions; a Board Member of the Louis Martinet Society, Life Choices NCLA; and a Board Member of Teach 1 To Lead 1.
From 1999 to 2005, John served on the Southern University Board of Supervisors. In 2001, he was unanimously elected as Chairman of the Board and re-elected to a second term in 2002 by a unanimous vote of his peers.
John is a member of the United States 5th Circuit Court of appeals; Western, Middle and Eastern Federal District Courts; the Louisiana Bar Association; the Federal Bar Association; and the Lincoln Bar Association. As an experienced courtroom litigator in both criminal and civil courts, he conducts legal seminars and advises law enforcement officers on criminal proceedings and procedure.
John has a wealth of administrative experience in both the public and private sectors. He is presently a member of the Board of Directors of First National Bank and the Eddie G. Robinson Museum. The Belton Companies have a portfolio of six restaurants plus residential and commercial real estate and timber land holdings. Belton is associated with numerous community and civic groups (past and/or present): Greater Grambling Chamber of Commerce, Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, Union Parish Chamber of Commerce, Boys and Girls Club of North Central Louisiana, Boys Scouts of America, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Methodist Children’s Home, North Louisiana Legal Aid Council, United Way of Northeast Louisiana, Jaycees of America, Domestic Abuse Resistant Team (DART), and Council for a Better Louisiana (CABL). He also serves as the chairman of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum Commission and has served as an adjunct professor at Grambling State University.
As a result of his exemplary community service, John has received the commendations of numerous organizations, including the 2015 Grambling State University Martin Luther King Jr.-Thurgood Marshall Justice Award; the 2013 Greater Grambling Chamber of Commerce Calvin Wilkerson Award; the 2011 Ruston-Lincoln Chamber of Commerce Hospitality Award for the Eddie G. Robinson Museum; the 2001 Southern University Law Center Distinguished Alumni Award; the 2015 Boys and Girls Club Community Service Award. John was inducted into the Southern University Law Center Hall of Fame in 2015 and was recognized as a McNeese Black Alumni Chapter Trailbazer on April 18, 2020. He received the McNeese State University Distinguished Alumnus of the Year Award in November of 2022.
Belton grew up in South Louisiana in Evangeline and Acadia Parishes. John’s father, the late Willie Belton, was from Basile and his mother, the late Maudie Belton, was from Chatham. John could not run and play like other kids because he had leg braces, with hard work and faith in God, he not only learned to run, but became a high school football All State Defensive MVP.
John was taught not to be bitter when ridiculed and facing difficult obstacles but to have faith in God and work hard to achieve goals in this great country of opportunity. His parents were proud to be Americans and so is John. After being told he wasn’t college material, probably shouldn’t go into business and couldn’t be elected district attorney, John successfully overcame all of those obstacles.
John played college football and was active in student government at McNeese State University where he earned his B.A. He received his Juris Doctor law degree at Southern University Law School.
Belton tells his life story to illustrate to the youth in mentoring programs, like the Boys & Girls Club and Teach 1 to Lead 1, that they can overcome obstacles and get an education which will help them to achieve success. In some areas, the percentage of inmates who do not have a high school education is over 60 percent. John knows that education is the key to helping reduce crime and poverty, which is why he has been working with these successful mentoring programs that help our youth get an education. John has worked hard to expand the Teach 1 to Lead 1 program from one parish and one school district in Lincoln Parish to Union, Ouachita, Bienville, Rapides, East Baton Rouge, Livingston, Washington, and St. Tammany Parishes as well as Monroe City Schools and 11 school districts.
