# Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal

The Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal are the intermediate appellate courts for the state of Louisiana.
There are five circuits, each covering a different group of parishes. Each circuit is subdivided into three districts.
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

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.

## 1st Circuit

Parishes Included:
* 1st District: Ascension, Assumption, Iberville, Lafourche, Pointe Coupee, St. Mary, Terrebonne, and West Baton Rouge
* 2nd District: East Baton Rouge
* 3rd District: East Feliciana, Livingston, St. Helena, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Washington, and West Feliciana
Circuit Seat: First Circuit Courthouse (Baton Rouge)
Current judges :
| 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

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 :
| 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

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 :
| 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

Parishes Included: Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard
Circuit Seat: Fourth Circuit Courthouse (New Orleans)
Current judges :
| 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

Parishes Included: Jefferson, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist
Circuit Seat: Fifth Circuit Courthouse (Gretna)
Current judges :
| 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

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.