Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal

Last updated
USA Louisiana location map.svg
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Baton Rouge (1st)
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Shreveport (2nd)
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Lake Charles (3rd)
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New Orleans (4th)
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Gretna (5th)
Court locations

The Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal are the intermediate appellate courts for the state of Louisiana.

Contents

There are five circuits, each covering a different group of parishes. [1] Each circuit is subdivided into three districts. [2]

As with the Louisiana Supreme Court, the regular judicial terms on the courts of appeal are ten years.

The courts of appeal are housed in the following cities in Louisiana:

First Circuit – Baton Rouge

Second Circuit – Shreveport

Third Circuit – Lake Charles

Fourth Circuit – New Orleans

Fifth Circuit – Gretna

Jurisdiction

The Circuit Courts of Appeal have appellate jurisdiction over all civil matters, all matters appealed from family and juvenile courts, and most criminal cases that are triable by a jury. A court of appeal also has supervisory jurisdiction to review interlocutory orders and decrees in cases which are heard in the trial courts within their geographical circuits. One unique feature of the Courts of Appeal of Louisiana is that they are able to review questions of fact, as well as questions of law, in civil cases. In appeals of criminal cases, however, the appellate jurisdiction of the courts of appeal extends only to questions of law. [2]

1st Circuit

Parishes Included:

Circuit Seat: First Circuit Courthouse (Baton Rouge)

Current judges [3]
TitleNameDistrictSubdistrictElection sectionDivisionPartyTerm start
Chief JudgeVanessa Guidry-Whipple1DDemocratic1991
Circuit JudgeJohn Michael Guidry22DDemocratic1997
Circuit JudgeJ. Michael "Mike" McDonald21BRepublican2003
Circuit JudgePage McClendon3BRepublican2002
Circuit JudgeJewel E. "Duke" Welch21CRepublican2004
Circuit JudgeMitchell R. Theriot1BRepublican2012
Circuit JudgeGuy Holdridge11CRepublican2015
Circuit JudgeWayne Ray Chutz3ARepublican2015
Circuit JudgeAllison H. Penzato3CRepublican2017
Circuit JudgeWalter I. Lanier, III11ARepublican2019
Circuit JudgeElizabeth Wolfe3DRepublican2020
Circuit JudgeChristopher Hester21ARepublican2021

2nd Circuit

Parishes Included: Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Caldwell, Claiborne, DeSoto, East Carroll, Franklin, Jackson, Lincoln, Madison, Morehouse, Ouachita, Red River, Richland, Tensas, Union, Webster, West Carroll, Winn

Circuit Seat: Second Circuit Courthouse (Shreveport)

Current judges [4]
TitleNameDistrictElection sectionDivisionPartyTerm start
Chief JudgeFrances Jones Pitman32BRepublican2012
Circuit JudgeShonda D. Stone31ADemocratic2016
Circuit Judge Jeff Cox 2CRepublican2017
Circuit JudgeJames M. Stephens12AIndependent2018
Circuit Judge Jeff R. Thompson 22Republican2019
Circuit JudgeJeff Robinson21ARepublican2021
Circuit Judge Marcus Hunter 11CDemocratic2021
Circuit JudgeCraig O. Marcotte32CRepublican2022
Circuit JudgeDanny Ellender12BRepublican2023

3rd Circuit

Parishes Included: Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Catahoula, Concordia, Evangeline, Grant, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine, St. Landry, St. Martin, Vermilion, Vernon

Circuit Seat: Third Circuit Courthouse (Lake Charles)

Current judges [5]
TitleNameDistrictElection sectionDivisionPartyTerm start
Chief JudgeSylvia R. Cooks32DDemocratic1992
Circuit JudgeElizabeth A. Pickett1AIndependent1997
Circuit JudgeBilly H. Ezell22BRepublican2003
Circuit JudgeShannon J. Gremillion1CDemocratic2008
Circuit JudgeJohn E. Conery33ERepublican2013
Circuit JudgeD. Kent Savoie22ARepublican2015
Circuit JudgeVan H. Kyzar1BDemocratic2017
Circuit JudgeCandyce Perret1BRepublican2017
Circuit Judge Jonathan W. Perry 34FRepublican2019
Circuit JudgeSharon Wilson21CDemocratic2021
Circuit JudgeCharlie Fitzgerald35ARepublican2021
Circuit JudgeGary J. Ortego33ERepublican2022

4th Circuit

Parishes Included: Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard

Circuit Seat: Fourth Circuit Courthouse (New Orleans)

Current judges [6]
TitleNameDistrictDivisionPartyTerm start
Chief JudgeTerri F. Love1EDemocratic2000
Circuit JudgeEdwin A. Lombard1ADemocratic2003
Circuit JudgeRoland L. Belsomeat largeDemocratic2004
Circuit JudgeDaniel L. Dysart3AIndependent2010
Circuit JudgeJoyce Cossich Lobrano2ARepublican2010
Circuit JudgeRosemary Ledet1GDemocratic2010
Circuit JudgeSandra Cabrina Jenkins1HDemocratic2012
Circuit JudgePaula A. Brown1CDemocratic2017
Circuit JudgeTiffany G. Chase1BDemocratic2017
Circuit JudgeDale N. Atkins1FDemocratic2018

5th Circuit

Parishes Included: Jefferson, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist

Circuit Seat: Fifth Circuit Courthouse (Gretna)

Current judges [7]
TitleNameDivisionPartyTerm start
Chief JudgeSusan M. ChehardyDIndependent1998
Circuit JudgeFredericka H. WickerBRepublican2006
Circuit JudgeJude G. GravoisHDemocratic2011
Circuit JudgeMarc E. JohnsonCDemocratic2009
Circuit JudgeRobert A. ChaissonIDemocratic2011
Circuit JudgeStephen J. WindhorstERepublican2012
Circuit JudgeHans J. LiljebergFRepublican2012
Circuit JudgeJohn J. Molaison Jr.GRepublican2018

Judicial misconduct scandal

In May 2007, Jerrold Peterson, staff director for the court, wrote a letter alleging that, starting in 1994, criminal pro se petitions were not being reviewed by a panel of three judges as required by Louisiana law. Instead, every pro se petition received a boilerplate response. At least 5,000 petitions have been disregarded under this policy over a 12 year period. On May 21, 2007, Peterson committed suicide at the age of 55. [8]

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References

  1. Map of judicial circuits of the Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal
  2. 1 2 Louisiana State Judiciary homepage
  3. "Judges". Louisiana Court of Appeal First Circuit, 22 Nov. 2016. Accessed 2 Apr. 2017.
  4. "Court Personnel Overview". Court of Appeal, Second Circuit State of Louisiana. Accessed 2 Apr. 2017.
  5. "Personnel Directory: Judges". State of Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal. Accessed 2 Apr. 2017.
  6. "Judicial Biography: Active Judges". State of Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit. Accessed 2 Apr. 2017.
  7. "Court Personnel". Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. Accessed 2 Apr. 2017.
  8. Rubin, Anat (November 4, 2023). "The Scandal That Never Happened". ProPublica . Archived from the original on November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.