Louisiana Supreme Court

Louisiana Supreme Court
Seal of the Louisiana Supreme Court
Established	1813
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
Authorised by	Constitution of Louisiana
Appeals to	Supreme Court of the United States
Number of positions	7
Website	Official website
Chief Justice
Currently	Bernette Joshua Johnson
Since	February 1, 2013
Lead position ends	December 31, 2020

The Supreme Court Building in March 2018, Statue of Judge White in Foreground

After a 20-year renovation (and a 46-year absence from the French Quarter), the Court returned in 2004 to the c.1910 state court building in New Orleans' French Quarter.

The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

The Supreme Court, and Louisiana state law, are historically based in the colonial governments of France and Spain during the 18th century. The current Supreme Court traces its roots back to these beginnings.

French and Spanish colonial government

Under the colonial governments of France and Spain, the courts of what is now Louisiana existed in several different forms. In 1712, a charter granted by France created a Superior Council with executive and judicial function which functioned as a court of last resort in both civil and criminal cases. In 1769, Louisiana (New France) became Louisiana (New Spain), and the Superior Council was replaced with the Cabildo. The colonial Governor held the power of final authority in legal cases.

Note that the part of today's Louisiana known as the Florida Parishes, the part east of the Mississippi River excepting New Orleans, had a separate and distinct succession of colonial governments beginning in 1763.

American territorial government

In 1803, Louisiana became a territory of the United States, known as the Territory of Orleans. In 1804, Congress created a three-judge Superior Court for the territory and gave the Legislative Council the power to create other courts. In 1807, the newly-elected Legislative Council created courts in each of the territory's nineteen parishes. These courts were courts of general jurisdiction with an appeal applying to the Superior Court.

The Court under the state government of Louisiana

Main article: Constitution of Louisiana

See also: List of justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court

Constitution of 1812

In the first Constitution for the state of Louisiana, one Supreme Court was created and the Legislature was given the power to create inferior courts. The number of judges was fixed to be not less than three and not more than five who were to be appointed by the Governor. The Court was required to sit in New Orleans and Opelousas.

Constitution of 1845

The 1845 Constitution created a Supreme Court composed of one Chief Justice and three Associate Justices appointed by the Governor to eight-year terms. The Court sat in New Orleans.

Constitution of 1852

The 1852 Constitution increased the number of Justices on the Court to five, and all became elected by the people. The Chief Justice was elected at-large by the entire state and the Associate Justices were elected from four districts throughout the state. The Justices served ten-year terms.

Constitution of 1864

In 1864, the Justices again became appointed, and their term length was decreased to eight years.

Constitution of 1868

The 1868 Constitution did not change the makeup or terms of the Supreme Court, however, it did change and expand its jurisdiction in civil cases to include nearly all types of cases.

Constitution of 1879

The post-Reconstruction Constitution of 1879 substantially modified the organization of the Louisiana judiciary. The Constitution created the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, District Courts and Justices of the Peace. The Supreme Court retained five justices, but they were now appointed by the Governor and served twelve-year terms. For the first time, the Supreme Court was given supervisory power over the inferior courts.

It also gave more limitations to the opportunity to vote by people of color.

Constitution of 1898

In 1898, the Supreme Court's jurisdiction was further expanded. The Court was given original jurisdiction over the bar. New Orleans was fixed as the seat of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice was determined by the senior justice in point of service.

Constitution of 1913

The Constitution of 1913 affected the Court by requiring that the members of the judiciary be elected instead of appointed.

Constitution of 1921

In 1921, the Court gained two seats, increasing the number of justices to seven. Due to having a large backlog in its docket, the Court was authorized to sit in panels of three. The Supreme Court was also given the power to remove lower court judges from office.

Constitution of 1974

The current Louisiana Constitution of 1974, as amended in 1980, provides for a Supreme Court composed of a Justice elected from each of seven Supreme Court Districts, serving a term of 10 years. The Chief Justice is not elected separately from the other justices (as is the case in other states, such as with the Texas Supreme Court); under Article V, Section 6, the "judge oldest in point of service on the supreme court" (i.e., the justice with the longest tenure on the Court) serves as the Chief Justice.

Jurisdiction and appeals

The Court has original jurisdiction over matters arising from disciplinary matters involving the bench and bar pursuant to La. Constitution Article V, section 5 (B).

The Court has exclusive appellate jurisdiction (i.e. all intermediate courts of appeals are bypassed) over 1) any case where a law or ordinance of this state has been declared unconstitutional, or 2) when a defendant has been convicted of a capital crime and the death penalty has actually been imposed pursuant to La. Constitution Article V, section 5 (D). In all other matters, the Court has regular appellate jurisdiction from the lower Courts of Appeals.

Death penalty appeals are automatic as a matter of right. All other appellate review of lower court decisions in the state is obtained by the writ of certiorari process as provided for by Article V, Section 5 (A) of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and Rule X of the Supreme Court Rules.

The Court has general supervisory and rule making authority over all the lower state courts pursuant to La. Constitution Article V, section 5 (A).

On certain questions involving the persons who serve as judges at any level under the constitution of the State of Louisiana, the Louisiana Supreme Court may entertain recommendations from the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana, a nine-member advisory body.

Districts

The Louisiana Supreme Court has seven election districts with each district electing one justice.

The districts are composed as follows:

First District: Parts of Jefferson Parish, Parts of Orleans Parish, St. Helena Parish, St. Tammany Parish, Tangipahoa Parish, Washington Parish

Second District: Allen Parish, Beauregard Parish, Bossier Parish, Caddo Parish, DeSoto Parish, Evangeline Parish, Natchitoches Parish, Red River Parish, Sabine Parish, Vernon Parish, Webster Parish

Third District: Acadia Parish, Avoyelles Parish, Calcasieu Parish, Cameron Parish, Jefferson Davis Parish, Lafayette Parish, St. Landry Parish, Vermilion Parish

Fourth District: Bienville Parish, Caldwell Parish, Catahoula Parish, Claiborne Parish, Concordia Parish, East Carroll Parish, Franklin Parish, Grant Parish, Jackson Parish, LaSalle Parish, Lincoln Parish, Madison Parish, Morehouse Parish, Ouachita Parish, Rapides Parish, Richland Parish, Tensas Parish, Union Parish, West Carroll Parish, Winn Parish

Fifth District: Ascension Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish, East Feliciana Parish, Iberville Parish, Livingston Parish, Pointe Coupee Parish, West Baton Rouge Parish, West Feliciana Parish

Sixth District: Assumption Parish, Iberia Parish, Parts of Jefferson Parish, Lafourche Parish, Plaquemines Parish, St. Bernard Parish, St. Charles Parish, St. James Parish, St. John the Baptist Parish, St. Martin Parish, St. Mary Parish, Terrebonne Parish

Seventh District: Parts of Jefferson Parish, Parts of Orleans Parish

Current composition

See also: List of justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court

District	Justice	Born	Party	Date service began	Term ends	Law school
7th	Bernette Joshua Johnson (Chief Justice)	1943	Democrat	Associate Justice-October 31, 1994 Chief Justice-February 1, 2013	December 31, 2020	LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center
1st	William J. Crain	1961	Republican	December 11, 2019	December 31, 2022	LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center
2nd	Scott J. Crichton	1954	Republican	January 1, 2015	December 31, 2024	LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center
3rd	James T. Genovese	1949	Republican	January 1, 2017	December 31, 2026	Loyola University New Orleans College of Law
4th	seat vacant	—	—	—	December 31, 2026	—
5th	Jefferson D. Hughes, III	1952	Republican	February 1, 2013	December 31, 2028	LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center
6th	John L. Weimer	1954	No Party	December 13, 2001	December 31, 2022	LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center

Seniority of justices

The seniority of the justices on the Louisiana Supreme Court was disputed in the summer of 2012 after Chief Justice Kimball announced her retirement. The Louisiana Constitution, Art. 5, § 6, provides that "The judge oldest in point of service on the supreme court shall be chief justice." When Justice Bernette Johnson was elected in 1994, she technically filled a seat on a state appeals court but was assigned to serve on the Supreme Court on a full-time basis under the terms of a federal consent decree. Justice Jeffrey Victory, who was elected to the Supreme Court in 1995, contested Johnson's elevation to Chief Justice, arguing that she only became a full-fledged Supreme Court justice in 2000, when Johnson was first elected to fill a permanent seat on the Court. Justice Johnson filed a federal lawsuit in the matter on July 5, 2012. On September 1, Federal District Court Judge Susie Morgan ruled that Johnson had seniority. Governor Bobby Jindal stated that it should be left to the state to interpret its constitution, and filed an appeal a week later. He then asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the lower court's decisions. On October 16, 2012, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that Johnson would become the next Chief Justice.

With Chief Justice Johnson not seeking re-election in 2020, Justice Weimer is set to become the next Chief Justice effective January 1, 2021.

Johnson (1994); Weimer (2001); Hughes (2012); Crichton (2015); Genovese (2017); Crain (2019)

See also

• Law of Louisiana
• Courts of Louisiana
• History of Louisiana

External links

• Louisiana Supreme Court Online
• Historical Archives of the Supreme Court of Louisiana (from the LOUISiana Digital Library)