Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal
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The Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal is one of the five circuit Courts of Appeal in the State of Louisiana, which handle appeals in criminal court cases.
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History
In 1958, Louisiana Supreme Court could not manage its docket without significant delay. Therefore, a number of radical changes to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court and the Courts of Appeal were enacted by Constitutional amendments in 1960. Those changes provided for a major reallocation of appellate authority between the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal. A fourth Court of Appeal was added to the existing three.
With few exceptions, all civil appeals without limitation were allowed to proceed directly to the Courts of Appeal, and that by Writ of Certiorari to the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal for the Parish of Orleans eliminated the single judge de novo appeal from the City Court of Orleans; instead, those appeals would be treated like any civil appeal. However, the Supreme Court would continue to have general exclusive criminal jurisdiction over all criminal appeals in every other conviction in which a fine of $500 or a sentence of more than six months was imposed.
In 1960, the name of the Court was changed from the Court of Appeal for the Parish of Orleans to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal for the State of Louisiana. Its domicile was and is the City of New Orleans.
Constitutional Amendment in 1980
Eventually, the new system proved unworkable because of the volume of criminal appeals to the Supreme Court. The Louisiana Constitution was amended in 1980, effective July 1, 1982, transferring all criminal appellate jurisdiction from the Supreme Court to the Courts of Appeal, except in cases where the death penalty has actually been imposed. The Supreme Court retained jurisdiction to review judgments by writ application of the Courts of Appeal in both civil and criminal cases.
The 1980 legislation divided the Fourth Circuit into two parts. The parishes of Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines remained in the Fourth Circuit, while the Parishes of Jefferson, St. Charles, St. James and St. John the Baptist were transferred to the newly created Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal, located in Gretna, Louisiana. The 1982 legislation also increased the number of Fourth Circuit judges from six to twelve. The Court is currently composed of two judges elected from the large population of the three parishes, one each from St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parish, and eight from Orleans Parish. The current judicial salary is $106,705.00 per annum.
To date 62 judges have served on either the Court of Appeal for the Parish of Orleans or the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.[1]
Judges
- Chief Judge Joan Bernard Armstrong
- Judge Charles R. Jones
- Judge Patricia Rivet Murray
- Judge James F. McKay
- Judge Dennis R. Bagneris
- Judge Michael E. Kirby
- Judge Terri F. Love
- Judge Max N. Tobias
- Judge David S. Gorbaty
- Judge Edwin A. Lombard
- Judge Leon A. Cannizzaro
- Judge Roland L. Belsome
