Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal

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

Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal is located in Louisiana
Baton Rouge (1st)
Baton Rouge (1st)
Shreveport (2nd)
Shreveport (2nd)
Lake Charles (3rd)
Lake Charles (3rd)
New Orleans (4th)
New Orleans (4th)
Gretna (5th)
Gretna (5th)
Court locations

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

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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

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Parishes Included:

Circuit Seat: First Circuit Courthouse (Baton Rouge)

Current judges[3]
Title Name District Subdistrict Election section Division Party Term start
Chief Judge Vanessa Guidry-Whipple 1 D Democratic 1991
Circuit Judge John Michael Guidry 2 2 D Democratic 1997
Circuit Judge J. Michael "Mike" McDonald 2 1 B Republican 2003
Circuit Judge Page McClendon 3 B Republican 2002
Circuit Judge Jewel E. "Duke" Welch 2 1 C Republican 2004
Circuit Judge Mitchell R. Theriot 1 B Republican 2012
Circuit Judge Guy Holdridge 1 1 C Republican 2015
Circuit Judge Wayne Ray Chutz 3 A Republican 2015
Circuit Judge Allison H. Penzato 3 C Republican 2017
Circuit Judge Walter I. Lanier, III 1 1 A Republican 2019
Circuit Judge Elizabeth Wolfe 3 D Republican 2020
Circuit Judge Christopher Hester 2 1 A Republican 2021

2nd Circuit

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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]
Title Name District Election section Division Party Term start
Chief Judge Frances Jones Pitman 3 2 B Republican 2012
Circuit Judge Shonda D. Stone 3 1 A Democratic 2016
Circuit Judge Jeff Cox 2 C Republican 2017
Circuit Judge James M. Stephens 1 2 A Independent 2018
Circuit Judge Jeff R. Thompson 2 2 Republican 2019
Circuit Judge Jeff Robinson 2 1 A Republican 2021
Circuit Judge Marcus Hunter 1 1 C Democratic 2021
Circuit Judge Craig O. Marcotte 3 2 C Republican 2022
Circuit Judge Danny Ellender 1 2 B Republican 2023

3rd Circuit

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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]
Title Name District Election section Division Party Term start
Chief Judge Sylvia R. Cooks 3 2 D Democratic 1992
Circuit Judge Elizabeth A. Pickett 1 A Independent 1997
Circuit Judge Billy H. Ezell 2 2 B Republican 2003
Circuit Judge Shannon J. Gremillion 1 C Democratic 2008
Circuit Judge John E. Conery 3 3 E Republican 2013
Circuit Judge D. Kent Savoie 2 2 A Republican 2015
Circuit Judge Van H. Kyzar 1 B Democratic 2017
Circuit Judge Candyce Perret 1 B Republican 2017
Circuit Judge Jonathan W. Perry 3 4 F Republican 2019
Circuit Judge Sharon Wilson 2 1 C Democratic 2021
Circuit Judge Charlie Fitzgerald 3 5 A Republican 2021
Circuit Judge Gary J. Ortego 3 3 E Republican 2022

4th Circuit

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Parishes Included: Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard

Circuit Seat: Fourth Circuit Courthouse (New Orleans)

Current judges[6]
Title Name District Division Party Term start
Chief Judge Terri F. Love 1 E Democratic 2000
Circuit Judge Edwin A. Lombard 1 A Democratic 2003
Circuit Judge Roland L. Belsome at large Democratic 2004
Circuit Judge Daniel L. Dysart 3 A Independent 2010
Circuit Judge Joyce Cossich Lobrano 2 A Republican 2010
Circuit Judge Rosemary Ledet 1 G Democratic 2010
Circuit Judge Sandra Cabrina Jenkins 1 H Democratic 2012
Circuit Judge Paula A. Brown 1 C Democratic 2017
Circuit Judge Tiffany G. Chase 1 B Democratic 2017
Circuit Judge Dale N. Atkins 1 F Democratic 2018

5th Circuit

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

Circuit Seat: Fifth Circuit Courthouse (Gretna)

Current judges[7]
Title Name Division Party Term start
Chief Judge Susan M. Chehardy D Independent 1998
Circuit Judge Fredericka H. Wicker B Republican 2006
Circuit Judge Jude G. Gravois H Democratic 2011
Circuit Judge Marc E. Johnson C Democratic 2009
Circuit Judge Robert A. Chaisson I Democratic 2011
Circuit Judge Stephen J. Windhorst E Republican 2012
Circuit Judge Hans J. Liljeberg F Republican 2012
Circuit Judge John J. Molaison Jr. G Republican 2018

Judicial misconduct scandal

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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]

References

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  1. ^ Map of judicial circuits of the Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal
  2. ^ a b 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.
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