Louisiana Supreme Court

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.

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 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.[2]

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

The districts are composed as follows:[3]

The seniority of the justices on the Louisiana Supreme Court was disputed in the summer of 2012 after Chief Justice Kimball announced her retirement.[4] The Louisiana Constitution, Art. 5, § 6, provides that "The judge oldest in point of service on the supreme court shall be chief justice."[5] 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.[6] 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.[4] Justice Johnson filed a federal lawsuit in the matter on July 5, 2012.[7] On September 1, Federal District Court Judge Susie Morgan ruled that Johnson had seniority.[8] Governor Bobby Jindal stated that it should be left to the state to interpret its constitution, and filed an appeal a week later.[9] He then asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review the lower court's decisions.[10] On October 16, 2012, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled that Johnson would become the next Chief Justice.[11]

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

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

29.955706°N 90.066004°W / 29.955706; -90.066004