SLS 14RS-5230 ORIGINAL
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Regular Session, 2014
SENATE STUDY REQUEST NO. 5
BY SENATOR PERRY
COMMITTEE STUDIES. Requests the Senate Committee on Judiciary A to study the
feasibility of dividing the Fifteenth Judicial District into three single-parish judicial districts.
A STUDY REQUEST1
To request the Senate Committee on Judiciary A to study the feasibility of dividing the2
Fifteenth Judicial District into three single-parish judicial districts.3
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana is divided into forty-two judicial districts with4
dramatic differences in size of court and volume of cases; and5
WHEREAS, twenty-eight of the judicial districts are comprised of a single-parish6
and only eight judicial districts are comprised of three parishes; and7
WHEREAS, the Fifteenth Judicial District is one such district comprised of the8
parishes of Acadia, Lafayette, and Vermilion; and9
WHEREAS, as the court of original jurisdiction for all civil and criminal matters, it10
is critical that in addition to legal expertise, judges have an understanding and awareness of11
the culture, customs, and attitudes of their locale to better evaluate testimony, communicate12
with jurors, and administer justice; and13
WHEREAS, often there are dramatic differences in expectations, priorities, and14
needs of residents of urban parishes when compared to residents of rural parishes which can15
manifest itself in the types of disputes which lead to litigation; and16
WHEREAS, in addition, because of population and industry distribution, commuting17
patterns, and local economies, in multi-parish districts it is very possible for the parish18 SSR NO. 5
SLS 14RS-5230 ORIGINAL
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distribution of filing fees to be strikingly different when compared with the parish1
distribution of judges, allocation of other resources, or development of programs to assist2
the court and litigants; and3
WHEREAS, although the Fifteenth Judicial District is a single judicial district, data4
regarding court filings and other matters is collected by the district and submitted to the5
Judicial Council of the Louisiana Supreme Court on a parish-by-parish basis; and6
WHEREAS, given that two-thirds of the judicial districts are single-parish districts,7
it is prudent to re-evaluate periodically the reasons that certain judicial districts were created8
as multi-parish districts and determine whether those reasons are still relevant and applicable9
in today's environment and dynamics; and10
WHEREAS, beginning with data already being collected and with a goal toward11
efficient and effective administration of justice, an in-depth study of the benefits and12
challenges associated with dividing the Fifteenth Judicial District into single-parish judicial13
districts as well as the feasibility and costs associated therewith is deemed appropriate.14
THEREFORE, the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana requests that the Senate15
Committee on Judiciary A study the benefits, feasibility, and costs associated with dividing16
the Fifteenth Judicial District into three single-parish districts.17
A copy of this Study Request shall be transmitted to the chief judge of the Fifteenth18
Judicial District Court and the deputy judicial administrator of the Louisiana Supreme Court.19
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Dawn Romero Watson.
DIGEST
Perry SSR No. 5
Requests the Senate Committee on Judiciary A study the benefits, feasibility, and costs
associated with dividing the Fifteenth Judicial District into three single-parish districts.