The legislature may be convened at other times by the governor, and shall be convened by the presiding officers of both houses upon written petition of a majority of the elected members of each house. Parliamentary procedure and committee organization resemble that in use throughout the nation. All these officials are elected for four-year terms. The present judicial system, originally established by the Louisiana Constitution of 1921, affords judicial power in a state supreme court, courts of appeal, district courts, and other lesser tribunals as provided by law. The supreme court has general supervisory jurisdiction over all courts.
Courts of appeal have appellate jurisdiction over five circuits of the state.
District courts have original jurisdiction over appeals from justices of the peace and certain minor courts. Judges in Louisiana are elected except where the are temporarily appointed to fill vacancies. For more information about Louisiana's branches of government and officials, visit the links pages in All Around Louisiana. Dramatic debates in the somber halls and courtly gatherings on the grounds reflected the mixture of tension and grace which characterized the antebellum South. A year later, Union forces advanced up the Mississippi River and seized Baton Rouge.