What are Louisiana Court Records?

Court Dockets

Court dockets are official records that list all the proceedings and filings in a particular case, including scheduled hearings, motions, and decisions. They provide a chronological overview of the case's progress through the court system.

Transcripts

Transcripts are verbatim written records of court proceedings, including testimonies, arguments, and rulings. They are typically prepared by court reporters or transcriptionists and serve as an official record for appeals or future reference.

Warrants

Warrants are documents issued by a judge or magistrate authorizing law enforcement to perform certain actions, such as arresting an individual or searching a specific location.

Summons

A summons is an official document issued by a court notifying a person that they are required to appear in court on a specific date, typically in relation to a lawsuit or legal proceeding.

Affidavits

These are written statements made under oath, in which the person making the statement swears that the information provided is true to the best of their knowledge.

Calendars

Court calendars are lists that detail the dates, locations, and times of hearings, trials, and other court proceedings.

Orders

Court orders are official directives issued by a judge requiring parties to take specific actions or refrain from certain activities. Orders can address various matters, such as granting motions, setting bail, or imposing penalties.

Writs

Writs are formal written orders issued by a court commanding the recipient to perform or abstain from performing a specific act. Common types of writs include habeas corpus and mandamus.

Case Files

Case files are collections of all the documents, evidence, and records related to a particular legal case, including pleadings, motions, orders, and correspondence. They provide a comprehensive record of the case from initiation to resolution.

Judgments

These are final decisions made by a court about the rights and obligations of the parties involved in a legal dispute. They often include the court's ruling on the issues presented and any penalties, fines, or remedies awarded.

Civil Cases

In a civil case, a plaintiff (or the person filing a complaint in court) requests the protection or enforcement of a right or prevention or the redress of a wrong that is not a crime. Civil cases include torts, contracts, real property, small claims, mental health, probate or estate, and civil appeals.

Criminal Cases

Criminal case type is a broad classification for trial court cases beginning with an indictment or bill of information and includes cases involving misdemeanors and felonies. Criminal case types include arson, murder, theft, vandalism, fraud, manslaughter, kidnapping, and drug crimes.

Traffic Cases

Traffic cases begin with a citation involving adult and juvenile traffic cases, excluding juvenile delinquency cases and all driving while impaired cases. Examples of traffic cases include speeding, reckless driving, and running a red light.

Juvenile Cases

Juvenile cases begin with a pre-petition filing or a petition and involve individuals under 18. A pre-petition filing includes an affidavit or verified complaint, a temporary restraining or protective order request, a bench warrant, or an instanter request. Examples of juvenile cases include child in need of care cases, termination of parental rights cases, domestic abuse cases involving children, child support, adoption, formal families in need of services, juvenile delinquency, juvenile contempt of court, and other cases categorized as juvenile cases under the Louisiana Children's Code.

Supreme Court

The Supreme Court of Louisiana holds exclusive original jurisdiction over disciplinary proceedings involving lawyers, recommendations from the judiciary commission for disciplining judges, and fact questions that affect its own appellate jurisdiction. The court has immediate appellate jurisdiction in cases where a law or ordinance has been deemed unconstitutional and in capital cases where the death penalty is imposed. Additionally, it has appellate jurisdiction over all issues in civil actions properly before it.

The Supreme Court supervises all the lower courts in the state via its jurisdiction and can establish administrative as well as procedural rules that do not conflict with existing laws. The court also has the authority to assign both retired and sitting judges to a specific court. The court also holds the authority to appoint ad hoc judges to municipal, traffic, city, juvenile, family, or parish courts. It reviews writ applications to examine specific cases and appellate and criminal jurisdiction.

The Louisiana Supreme Court comprises seven justices elected from six districts across Louisiana, each serving 10-year terms, along with one assigned justice. The senior justice, based on length of service, serves as the chief justice and acts as the principal administrative officer of the judicial system, carrying out these responsibilities through the judicial administrator. The court is the highest in the state and is domiciled in New Orleans.

Court of Appeals

The tasks assigned to Louisiana's appellate courts are managed by 5 separate courts of appeal located in Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Gretna, and New Orleans. The 1st Circuit located within Baton Rouge is composed of 13 judges, while the 2nd Circuit located in Shreveport relies on 9 judges. The 3rd Circuit Court positioned in Lake Charles is composed of 12 judges, the 4th Circuit located inside New Orleans utilizes a total of 12 judges, and the 5th Circuit Court located in Gretna has eight total judges. Judges serve 10-year terms and are elected from districts within their circuits or at large. Each Circuit Court has one senior judge who handles the role of chief judge, overseeing the court's administration according to its adopted rules.

Each court of appeal has supervisory jurisdiction over all cases that begin inside its lower circuit. Each court of appeal is supervised by the Louisiana Supreme Court. The courts of appeal have appellate jurisdiction that covers each of the civil cases, matters appealed from juvenile and family courts, and criminal cases eligible for jury trials within their circuits, except those directly appealable to the Louisiana Supreme Court or district courts.

District Court

Louisiana's district courts serve as the trial courts of general jurisdiction. The state includes 40 overall judicial districts, each covering between one and three parishes, with a separate district for Orleans Parish. In the 63 parishes surrounding Orleans Parish, each parish is composed of a district court located at the parish seat. When a judicial district covers multiple parishes, each parish has its court, clerk, and docket, but the same district judges serve them. Across these 40 districts, 170 district judges are elected to serve a total of six years. In Orleans Parish, the district court is divided into criminal and civil divisions, with 14 judges for civil cases and 10 judges plus one magistrate for criminal cases.

District courts have broad jurisdiction over cases inside their territory, except in specific districts like Orleans, First, 19th, as well as the 24th, where juvenile and family courts handle certain cases exclusively. In Orleans Parish, municipal ordinance violations are handled by traffic and municipal courts. District courts share jurisdiction with justices of the peace and city courts in civil cases involving specific monetary limits and also have concurrent jurisdiction over juvenile and misdemeanor cases where a separate juvenile court is not available.

District courts normally enjoy appellate jurisdiction in relation to criminal cases from city, municipal, traffic, and mayor's courts, except when cases are tried under state statutes, in which case appeals go to the appropriate court of appeal. The Orleans Parish Criminal District Court supervises traffic and municipal courts within its parish.

Mayor's Courts

Under R.S. 33:441 and 442, municipalities governed by a board of Aldermen as well as a mayor, where city courts are not established, grant jurisdiction to appointed magistrates and mayors to adjudicate municipal ordinance violations. Recent legislative changes have expanded their authority to include the imposition of imprisonment and the functions of a committing magistrate. Currently, around 250 mayor's courts are operational across towns and villages in Louisiana.

Family and Juvenile Court

The Family Court of East Baton Rouge Parish as well as the Juvenile Courts of East Baton Rouge, Orleans, Jefferson, and Caddo Parishes are specialized courts with exclusive jurisdiction over specific case types. In other Louisiana districts, these cases would typically fall under the jurisdiction of district, parish, or city courts. Judges in these specialized courts must meet specific qualifications and serve six-year terms just like district judges, only they are in Orleans Parish, where juvenile court judges serve eight-year terms.

Juvenile courts enjoy jurisdiction over various proceedings involving minors, such as delinquency cases for individuals under 21 who committed offenses before turning 17. However, if a minor aged 15 or older is charged with serious crimes like first or second degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, or aggravated rape, the case is moved to a proper criminal court.

Additionally, juvenile courts have original jurisdiction over adoption cases involving unemancipated minors under 17. The Family Court of East Baton Rouge Parish holds exclusive jurisdiction over matters such as divorce, annulment, paternity disputes, child and spousal support, and child visitation and custody issues.

Parish Court

The jurisdiction of any Louisiana Parish Court is nearly identical to what City Courts enjoy. This is outlined in the Uniform Parish Court Jurisdiction and Procedure Act. Parish courts share original jurisdiction with district courts over certain criminal offenses that are punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to 6 months, or both. In civil matters, parish courts generally have concurrent jurisdiction with district courts for cases involving claims as great as $20,000.

However, parish courts do not handle cases involving divorce, annulment, property separation, alimony, claims against the state or its subdivisions, real estate title disputes, election contests, succession, interdiction, receivership, habeas corpus, constitutional rights claims, liquidation, quo warranto proceedings, or, for Jefferson Parish courts specifically, juvenile cases. Appeals directed from parish court decisions are directed at the courts of appeal.

City Court

In Orleans Parish, there is a court system split into multiple pieces: the First and Second City Courts, which handle civil cases; a municipal court, which deals primarily with misdemeanor cases (excluding traffic); and a traffic court. Each of these courts has four judges.

City courts maintain jurisdiction over criminal offenses that are not punishable by hard labor, such as violations of city and parish ordinances, Louisiana peace bonds, preliminary examinations, and DWI cases in the various non-capital cases. The courts also handle civil cases where the amount being considered or the total property value is between $15,000 and $50,000, excluding matters outside the jurisdiction of parish courts, such as emancipation, curatorship, partition proceedings, and tutorship. Additionally, city courts may separate the different juvenile courts and enact juvenile jurisdiction exclusively.

The municipal court oversees municipal order violations, with complete jurisdiction over them. This excludes traffic cases, but the Traffic Court exclusively handles municipal traffic ordinance violations. Louisiana law also divides small claims courts within city courts, where claims up to $5,000 can be filed. In these divisions, procedures are simplified, and technical evidence rules are relaxed.

Currently, there are 46 city courts in Louisiana outside of Orleans Parish, with 56 judges presiding over them. City court judges serve six-year terms and must meet the same qualifications as district judges.

Justice of the Peace Courts

In Louisiana Justice of the Peace court locations are no longer used in any areas where a City Court is available. There are 390 such courts still operating throughout the state. Their criminal jurisdiction is typically confined to roles such as issuing peace bonds and committing new magistrates. In civil matters, they share original jurisdiction with district courts for cases involving amounts valued at as much as $5,000. However, they are not authorized to hear cases related to real estate titles, public office disputes, divorce proceedings, lawsuits against public bodies, or executory proceedings.

The jurisdiction of a justice of the peace courts covers specific cases, such as disputes over movable property valued at $5,000 or less, eviction suits by landowners or lessors against tenants of commercial premises and farmlands where the monthly rent does not exceed $5,000, and eviction suits for residential premises, no matter the rent amount or lease term.