Did You Know?

Louisiana’s Judicial System has 3 separate court jurisdictions and responsibilites;
Courts of Limited Jurisdiction - Include city courts, justice of the peace courts, and mayor’s courts. These courts can only exercise the functions that the law gives them the authority to do; this is why they are called courts of limited jurisdiction. The subject matter jurisdiction of these courts is limited both by the amount in dispute and the subject matter of the controversy.
Juvenile and family courts are also courts of limited jurisdiction. These courts of limited jurisdiction were established to provide expertise and rapid handling of special types of cases.
Courts of General Jurisdiction - The next level in the Louisiana judicial system is courts of general jurisdiction. District courts are courts of general jurisdiction. This means that district courts have wide ranging authority to hear most kinds of cases, including criminal, civil, probate, family law and Juvenile cases. There are 40 district courts in Louisiana.
District courts have general original jurisdiction over all civil matters, except the following:
Actions arising under federal law in which Congress has granted exclusive original jurisdiction to the federal courts or agencies;
Disciplinary proceedings against attorneys, as exclusive original jurisdiction is vested in the Louisiana Supreme Court;
Matters in which original jurisdiction is vested in an administrative agency;
Family and juvenile matters in which exclusive jurisdiction has been vested in family or juvenile courts;
Courts of Appellate Jurisdiction - The highest level in the Louisiana judicial system is the courts with appellate jurisdiction. These courts do not preside over trials, but instead hear appeals of decisions from the courts below them. An appeal is a party’s exercise of the right to seek revision, modification, or reversal of a trial court judgment by an appellate court.
There are two appellate courts in Louisiana: The Courts of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The Courts of Appeal hear appeals of cases from district court. The Louisiana Supreme Court hears appeals of cases from the Court of Appeals. There are a few exceptions to this rule. For example, the Louisiana Supreme Court has immediate appellate jurisdiction over cases in which a law or ordinance has been declared unconstitutional and also immediate appellate jurisdiction in capital cases where the death penalty has been imposed. Accordingly, the appeal would bypass the Circuit Court of Appeal and go directly to the Louisiana Supreme Court.