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Regular Session, 2014 APPROVED
SENATE STUDY REQUEST NO. 5
BY SENATOR PERRY
A STUDY REQUEST
To request the Senate Committee on Judiciary A to study the feasibility of dividing the
Fifteenth Judicial District into three single-parish judicial districts.
WHEREAS, the state of Louisiana is divided into forty-two judicial districts with
dramatic differences in size of court and volume of cases; and
WHEREAS, twenty-eight of the judicial districts are comprised of a single-parish
and only eight judicial districts are comprised of three parishes; and
WHEREAS, the Fifteenth Judicial District is one such district comprised of the
parishes of Acadia, Lafayette, and Vermilion; and
WHEREAS, as the court of original jurisdiction for all civil and criminal matters, it
is critical that in addition to legal expertise, judges have an understanding and awareness of
the culture, customs, and attitudes of their locale to better evaluate testimony, communicate
with jurors, and administer justice; and
WHEREAS, often there are dramatic differences in expectations, priorities, and
needs of residents of urban parishes when compared to residents of rural parishes which can
manifest itself in the types of disputes which lead to litigation; and
WHEREAS, in addition, because of population and industry distribution, commuting
patterns, and local economies, in multi-parish districts it is very possible for the parish
distribution of filing fees to be strikingly different when compared with the parish
distribution of judges, allocation of other resources, or development of programs to assist
the court and litigants; and
WHEREAS, although the Fifteenth Judicial District is a single judicial district, data
regarding court filings and other matters is collected by the district and submitted to the
Judicial Council of the Louisiana Supreme Court on a parish-by-parish basis; and
WHEREAS, given that two-thirds of the judicial districts are single-parish districts,
it is prudent to re-evaluate periodically the reasons that certain judicial districts were created
as multi-parish districts and determine whether those reasons are still relevant and applicable
in today's environment and dynamics; and SSR NO. 5 APPROVED
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WHEREAS, beginning with data already being collected and with a goal toward
efficient and effective administration of justice, an in-depth study of the benefits and
challenges associated with dividing the Fifteenth Judicial District into single-parish judicial
districts as well as the feasibility and costs associated therewith is deemed appropriate.
THEREFORE, the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana requests that the Senate
Committee on Judiciary A study the benefits, feasibility, and costs associated with dividing
the Fifteenth Judicial District into three single-parish districts.
A copy of this Study Request shall be transmitted to the chief judge of the Fifteenth
Judicial District Court and the deputy judicial administrator of the Louisiana Supreme Court.