# United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana

The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (in case citations, W.D. La.) is a United States federal court with jurisdiction over approximately two thirds of the state of Louisiana, with courts in Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, and Shreveport. These cities comprise the Western District of Louisiana.
Appeals from the Western District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

## Jurisdiction

The parishes that fall under the jurisdiction of this district court are:

## History

On March 26, 1804, Congress organized the Territory of Orleans and created the United States District Court for the District of Orleans – the only time Congress provided a territory with a district court equal in its authority and jurisdiction to those of the states. The United States District Court for the District of Louisiana was established on April 8, 1812, by 2 Stat. 701, several weeks before Louisiana was formally admitted as a state of the union. The District was thereafter subdivided and reformed several times. It was first subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1823, by 3 Stat. 774.
On February 13, 1845, Louisiana was reorganized into a single District with one judgeship, by 5 Stat. 722, but was again divided into Eastern and the Western Districts on March 3, 1849, by 9 Stat. 401. Congress again abolished the Western District of Louisiana and reorganized Louisiana as a single judicial district on July 27, 1866, by 14 Stat. 300. On March 3, 1881, by 21 Stat. 507, Louisiana was for a third time divided into Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each. The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on December 18, 1971, by 85 Stat. 741.

## Current judges

As of December 22, 2023:
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Term of service | Term of service | Term of service | Appointed by |
| # | Title | Judge | Duty station | Born | Active | Chief | Senior | Appointed by |
| 31 | Chief Judge | Terry A. Doughty | Monroe | 1959 | 2018–present | 2022–present | — | Trump |
| 29 | District Judge | S. Maurice Hicks Jr. | Shreveport | 1952 | 2003–present | 2017–2022 | — | G.W. Bush |
| 32 | District Judge | Robert R. Summerhays | Lafayette | 1965 | 2018–present | — | — | Trump |
| 34 | District Judge | James D. Cain Jr. | Lake Charles | 1964 | 2019–present | — | — | Trump |
| 35 | District Judge | David C. Joseph | Lafayette | 1977 | 2020–present | — | — | Trump |
| 36 | District Judge | Jerry Edwards Jr. | Alexandria | 1979 | 2023–present | — | — | Biden |
| 37 | District Judge | vacant | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 21 | Senior Judge | Donald Ellsworth Walter | Shreveport | 1936 | 1985–2001 | — | 2001–present | Reagan |
| 23 | Senior Judge | James Travis Trimble Jr. | inactive | 1932 | 1991–2002 | — | 2002–present | G.H.W. Bush |
| 25 | Senior Judge | Tucker L. Melancon | Lafayette | 1946 | 1994–2009 | — | 2009–present | Clinton |
| 26 | Senior Judge | Robert G. James | Monroe | 1946 | 1998–2016 | 2009–2012 | 2016–present | Clinton |
| 27 | Senior Judge | Dee D. Drell | Alexandria | 1947 | 2003–2017 | 2012–2017 | 2017–present | G.W. Bush |
| 30 | Senior Judge | Elizabeth Erny Foote | Shreveport | 1953 | 2010–2022 | — | 2022–present | Obama |

## Vacancies and pending nominations

| Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
| 3 | Shreveport | Elizabeth Erny Foote | Senior status | January 21, 2022 | – | – |

## Former judges

| # | Judge | State | Born–died | Active service | Chief Judge | Senior status | Appointed by | Reason for termination |
| 1 | John Dick | LA | 1788–1824 | 1823–1824 | — | — | Monroe/Operation of law | death |
| 2 | Thomas B. Robertson | LA | 1779–1828 | 1824–1828 | — | — | Monroe | death |
| 3 | Samuel Hadden Harper | LA | 1783–1837 | 1829–1837 | — | — | Jackson | death |
| 4 | Philip Kissick Lawrence | LA | c.1793–1841 | 1837–1841 | — | — | Van Buren | death |
| 5 | Theodore Howard McCaleb | LA | 1810–1864 | 1841–1845 | — | — | Tyler | reassignment to D. La. |
| 6 | Henry Boyce | LA | 1797–1873 | 1849–1861 | — | — | Taylor Fillmore | resignation |
| 7 | Alexander Boarman | LA | 1839–1916 | 1881–1916 | — | — | Garfield | death |
| 8 | George W. Jack | LA | 1875–1924 | 1917–1924 | — | — | Wilson | death |
| 9 | Benjamin C. Dawkins Sr. | LA | 1881–1966 | 1924–1953 | 1948–1953 | 1953–1966 | Coolidge | death |
| 10 | Gaston Louis Noel Porterie | LA | 1885–1953 | 1939–1953 | — | — | F. Roosevelt | death |
| 11 | Benjamin C. Dawkins Jr. | LA | 1911–1984 | 1953–1973 | 1953–1973 | 1973–1984 | Eisenhower | death |
| 12 | Edwin F. Hunter | LA | 1911–2002 | 1953–1976 | 1973–1976 | 1976–2002 | Eisenhower | death |
| 13 | Richard Johnson Putnam | LA | 1913–2002 | 1961–1975 | — | 1975–2002 | Kennedy | death |
| 14 | Nauman Scott | LA | 1916–2001 | 1970–1984 | 1976–1984 | 1984–2001 | Nixon | death |
| 15 | Tom Stagg | LA | 1923–2015 | 1974–1992 | 1984–1991 | 1992–2015 | Nixon | death |
| 16 | W. Eugene Davis | LA | 1936–present | 1976–1983 | — | — | Ford | elevation to 5th Cir. |
| 17 | Earl Ernest Veron | LA | 1922–1990 | 1977–1990 | — | 1990 | Carter | death |
| 18 | John Malach Shaw | LA | 1931–1999 | 1979–1996 | 1991–1996 | 1996–1999 | Carter | death |
| 19 | John M. Duhé Jr. | LA | 1933–present | 1984–1988 | — | — | Reagan | elevation to 5th Cir. |
| 20 | F. A. Little Jr. | LA | 1936–2024 | 1984–2002 | 1996–2002 | 2002–2006 | Reagan | retirement |
| 22 | Richard T. Haik | LA | 1950–present | 1991–2015 | 2002–2009 | 2015–2016 | G.H.W. Bush | retirement |
| 24 | Rebecca F. Doherty | LA | 1952–present | 1991–2020 | — | 2017–2020 | G.H.W. Bush | retirement |
| 28 | Patricia Head Minaldi | LA | 1958–2018 | 2003–2017 | — | 2017–2018 | G.W. Bush | death |
| 33 | Michael J. Juneau | LA | 1962–2023 | 2018–2022 | — | 2022–2023 | Trump | death |
* ↑ Reassigned from the District of Louisiana.
* 1 2 3 4 5 Jointly appointed to both the Eastern and the Western Districts of Louisiana.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on December 21, 1849, confirmed by the United States Senate on August 2, 1850, and received commission the same day.
* ↑ Judge Boyce was given a recess appointment by President Taylor.
* ↑ Judge Boyce was nominated by President Taylor but was appointed to the Court by (i.e., received his commission from) President Fillmore.
* ↑ Recess appointment; formally nominated on January 11, 1954, confirmed by the Senate on February 9, 1954, and received commission on February 10, 1954.

## Chief judges

Chief judges have administrative responsibilities with respect to their district court. Unlike the Supreme Court, where one justice is specifically nominated to be chief, the office of chief judge rotates among the district court judges. To be chief, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as chief judge.
A vacancy is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The chief judge serves for a term of seven years, or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position.
When the office was created in 1948, the chief judge was the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire, on what has since 1958 been known as senior status, or declined to serve as chief judge. After August 6, 1959, judges could not become or remain chief after turning 70 years old. The current rules have been in operation since October 1, 1982.

## Succession of seats

Seat 1 :
| Seat reassigned from District of Louisiana on March 3, 1823 by 3 Stat. 774 (concurrent with Eastern District) ||
| Dick | 1823–1824 |
| Robertson | 1824–1828 |
| Harper | 1829–1837 |
| Lawrence | 1837–1841 |
| McCaleb | 1841–1845 |
| Seat reassigned to District of Louisiana on February 13, 1845 by 5 Stat. 722 ||
Seat 2 :
| Seat established on March 3, 1849 by 9 Stat. 401 ||
| Boyce | 1850–1861 |
| Seat abolished on July 27, 1866 by 14 Stat. 300 ||
Seat 3 :
| Seat established on March 3, 1881 by 21 Stat. 507 ||||
| Boarman | 1881–1916 |
| Jack | 1917–1924 |
| Dawkins, Sr. | 1924–1953 |
| Dawkins, Jr. | 1953–1973 |
| Stagg, Jr. | 1974–1992 |
| Melancon | 1994–2009 |
| Foote | 2010–2022 |
| vacant | 2022–present |
Seat 4 :
| Seat established on May 31, 1938 by 52 Stat. 584 ||||
| Porterie | 1939–1953 |
| Hunter, Jr. | 1953–1976 |
| Veron | 1977–1990 |
| Trimble, Jr. | 1991–2002 |
| Minaldi | 2003–2017 |
| Cain, Jr. | 2019–present |
Seat 5 :
| Seat established on May 19, 1961 by 75 Stat. 80 ||||
| Putnam | 1961–1975 |
| Davis | 1976–1983 |
| Duhé, Jr. | 1984–1988 |
| Haik | 1991–2015 |
| Juneau | 2018–2022 |
| Edwards, Jr. | 2023–present |
Seat 6 :
| Seat established on June 2, 1970 by 84 Stat. 294 ||||
| Scott | 1970–1984 |
| Little, Jr. | 1984–2002 |
| Drell | 2003–2017 |
| Joseph | 2020–present |
Seat 7 :
| Seat established on October 20, 1978 by 92 Stat. 1629 ||||
| Shaw | 1979–1996 |
| James | 1998–2016 |
| Doughty | 2018–present |
Seat 8 :
| Seat established on July 10, 1984 by 98 Stat. 333 ||||
| Walter | 1985–2001 |
| Hicks, Jr. | 2003–present |
Seat 9 :
| Seat established on December 1, 1990 by 104 Stat. 5089 ||||
| Doherty | 1991–2017 |
| Summerhays | 2018–present |

## U.S. attorneys

The complete list of United States attorneys in Louisiana, including those who served during territorial status:
* James Brown (1805–1808)
* Philip Grymes (1808–1810)
* Tully Robinson (1810–1811)
* John Randolph Grymes (1811–1814)
* Tully Robinson (2) (1814)
* John Dick (1814–1821)
* John W. Smith (1821–1823)
* John Brownson (1823–1830)
* Benjamin F. Linton (1830–1841)
* Henderson Taylor (1841–1842)
* Caleb L. Swayze (1842–1849)
* Henry Boyce (1849–1850)
* Lawrence P. Crain (1850–1853)
* Joseph H. Kilpatrick (1853–1854)
* Peter Alexander (1854–1856)
* Claiborne C. Briscoe (1856)
* Floyd Walton (1856–1860)
* Leon D. Marks (1860)
* James R. Beckwith (1870)
* H. B. Talliaferro (1881)
* Milton C. Elstner (1881–1885)
* Montfort S. Jones (1885–1889)
* Milton C. Elstner (2) (1889–1893)
* Charles W. Seals (1893–1898)
* Milton C. Elstner (3) (1898–1910)
* Edward H. Randolph (1910–1913)
* George W. Jack (1913–1917)
* Robert A. Hunter (1917)
* Joseph Moore (1917–1921)
* Yandell Boatner (1921)
* Hugh C. Fisher (1921–1922)
* Philip H. Mecom (1922–1935)
* Benjamin F. Roberts (1935–1937)
* Harvey Fields (1937–1941)
* Malcolm Lafargue (1941–1950)
* Joseph J. Fleniken (1950)
* Harvey Locke Carey (1950)
* William J. Fleniken (1950–1953)
* Thomas Wilson (1953–1962)
* Edward L. Shaheen (1962–1969)
* Donald Ellsworth Walter (1969–1977)
* Edward L. Shaheen (2) (1977–1979)
* J. Ransdell Keene (1979–1981)
* Joseph S. Cage Jr. (1981–1993)
* Michael D. Skinner (1993–2000)
* William J. Flanagan (2000–2001)
* Donald W. Washington (2001–2010)
* William J. Flanagan (2) (2010)
* Stephanie A. Finley (2010–2017)
* Alexander C. Van Hook (2017–2018)
* David C. Joseph (2018–2020)
* Alexander C. Van Hook (2) (2020–2021)
* Brandon B. Brown (2021–2025)
* Alexander C. Van Hook (acting) 2025-