ENROLLED
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 62
BY REPRESENTATIVE WILFORD CARTER
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 13:477(14), 589(A), and 621.14, relative to the Fourteenth
3 Judicial District; to provide for the election of judges in the Fourteenth Judicial
4 District; to provide for a new division of the court with limited or specialized
5 jurisdiction; to abolish a division of the court; to provide for the composition of the
6 election sections for the election of judges; to provide for the election sections from
7 which the judges are elected; to provide relative to the election of the magistrate
8 judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District; and to provide for related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 13:477(14), 589(A), and 621.14 are hereby amended and reenacted
11 to read as follows:
12 §477. Judicial districts
13 There shall be forty-one judicial districts in the state and each district shall
14 be composed as follows:
15 * * *
16 (14) The parish of Calcasieu shall compose the Fourteenth District. The
17 Fourteenth District shall consist of three election sections.
18 (a) Election section one shall consist of Precincts 30, 31, 31A, 100, 101, 102,
19 103S, 104E, 104W, 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 112E, 112W, 113, 117E, 117W, 123N,
20 123S-A & 123S-B, 124A & 124B, and 125 300, 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 307, 308,
21 309E, 309W, 310, 311, 312, 313E, 313W, 315E, 315W, 316E, 317, 318, 319N,
22 319S, 320E, 320W, 321, 322, 323, 324, 327, 328, 329, 330, 332N, 332S, 360, 361,
23 364, 371N, 800, 801, 860S, 861E, and 861W of Calcasieu Parish.
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1 (b) Election section two shall consist of Precincts 10E, 10W, 11, 12A & 12B,
2 13, 20, 21, 22, 32N, 32S-A & 32S-B, 33A, 34, 40, 41E, 41W, 42E, 42W, 50, 52, 53,
3 60, 61, 62, 63E, 63W, 80, 81, 81A*, 111, 114A & 114B, 115, 116, 118E, 118W,
4 119NE, 119NW, 119SE, 119SW, 120, 121, 122, 126A, 126C-A & 126C-B, 126E,
5 126W, 170, 171, 172, 173, 190, 191, 200A & 200B, and 201 160E, 160W, 161,
6 162E, 162W, 163, 164, 165, 166E, 166W, 167, 260, 261, 262, 306, 314, 316W, 326,
7 331, 335, 337, 338, 339, 340, 362, 367, 368, 369, 370, 371S, 372, 440, 441, 461,
8 463, 464, and 860N of Calcasieu Parish.
9 (c) Election section three shall consist of Precincts 33B, 33E, 33W-A &
10 33W-B, 35N-A & 35N-B, 35S, 43, 44N, 44S-A & 44S-B, 45, 46, 70, 71, 72, 110,
11 150, 151, 152, 153, 155A & 155B, 156, 157, 158, 180, 181, 182, and 183 325, 333,
12 334, 336, 363, 365, 366, 400, 401, 402, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 408, 460E, 460W,
13 465, 466E, 466W, 467, 468, 469, 560, 561, 562, 600, 601, 602, 603, 660, 661, 662,
14 663, 664, 700, 701, 702, 703, 760, 761, and 762 of Calcasieu Parish.
15 * * *
16 §589. Fourteenth Judicial District Court; magistrate judge
17 A. The office of magistrate judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District Court
18 is hereby created and shall be an elected position. The magistrate judge shall be
19 elected from election sections one and three combined at large from the Fourteenth
20 Judicial District. The initial election shall occur in the fall of 2020 and the elected
21 term shall begin January 1, 2021. The magistrate judge shall serve a six-year term.
22 The position is a full-time position, and the magistrate judge is prohibited from
23 practicing law.
24 * * *
25 §621.14. Fourteenth Judicial District
26 A. The Fourteenth Judicial District Court shall have nine judges. Two
27 judges, Divisions F and H, shall be elected from election section one; four judges,
28 Divisions B, C, D, and G, shall be elected from election section two; two judges,
29 Divisions A and E, shall be elected from election section three; and one judge,
30 Division I, shall be elected from election sections one and three combined. Three
31 judges shall be elected from each of the election sections created pursuant to R.S.
32 13:477(14) as follows:
33 (1) Divisions F, H, and J shall be elected from election section one.
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1 (2) Divisions C, D, and G shall be elected from election section two.
2 (3) Division A, B, and E shall be elected from election section three.
3 B.(1) There is hereby created a new judgeship effective January 1, 2021, to
4 be elected at the congressional election in 2020. This judge and his successors shall
5 preside over Division J, which is hereby created for purposes of nomination,
6 election, and subject matter. The subject matter jurisdiction of Division J is limited,
7 pursuant to the provisions of Article V, Section 15(A) of the Constitution of
8 Louisiana, to family and juvenile matters as provided by law.
9 (2) For purposes of this Subsection, "family and juvenile matters" shall
10 include all actions arising under Titles IV, V, and VII of Book I and Title VI of Book
11 III of the Louisiana Civil Code and related provisions of the Civil Code Ancillaries,
12 adoptions arising under the Louisiana Civil Code and the Louisiana Children's Code,
13 actions involving protection from family violence pursuant to R.S. 46:2131 et seq.,
14 actions for enforcement, collection of support, and paternity pursuant to R.S.
15 46:236.5, and all actions arising under or incidental to the Children's Code; together
16 with all related incidental actions, including but not limited to contempt, civil
17 warrants, writs of habeas corpus, change of name, prenuptial or separate property
18 agreements, interspousal donations, lesion, and challenges to consent judgments.
19 (3) The judgeship comprising Division I shall be abolished effective
20 midnight, December 31, 2020. All cases assigned to Division I shall be assigned to
21 the newly created Division J. No election to fill Division I shall be held to fill such
22 judgeship at the 2020 congressional election or at any election held after the effective
23 date of this Act.
24 C. In accordance with the provisions of R.S. 13:587, the judges elected to
25 serve in the judgeships designated as Divisions A and C shall continue to exercise
26 jurisdiction over family and juvenile matters, subject to the provisions of that
27 Section.
28 Section 2.(A) The precincts referenced in this Act are those contained in the file
29 named "2018 Precinct Shapefiles" published on the Louisiana House of Representatives
30 website. The 2018 Precinct Shapefiles are based upon those Voting Districts (VTDs)
31 contained in the 2010 Census Redistricting TIGER/Line Shapefiles for the state of Louisiana
32 as those files have been modified by the staff of the Legislature of Louisiana to represent
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1 precinct changes submitted through July 3, 2018, to the Legislature of Louisiana by parish
2 governing authorities pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 18:532 and 532.1.
3 (B) When a precinct referenced in this Act has been subdivided by action of the
4 parish governing authority on a nongeographic basis or subdivided by action of the parish
5 governing authority on a geographic basis in accordance with the provisions of R.S.
6 18:532.1, the enumeration in this Act of the general precinct designation shall include all
7 nongeographic and all geographic subdivisions thereof; however, such subdivisions may be
8 designated. The territorial limits of the election sections as provided in this Act shall
9 continue in effect without change regardless of any changes made to the precincts by the
10 parish governing authority.
11 Section 3. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
12 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
13 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
14 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
15 effective on the day following such approval.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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