The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (in case citations, W.D. La.) is a United States federal court with jurisdiction over approximately two thirds of the state of Louisiana, with courts in Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe and Shreveport. These cities comprise the Western District of Louisiana.
Appeals from the Western District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
Jurisdiction
The parishes that fall under the jurisdiction of this district are as follows:
Acadia Parish, Louisiana; Allen Parish, Louisiana; Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana; Beauregard Parish, Louisiana; Bienville Parish, Louisiana; Bossier Parish, Louisiana; Caddo Parish, Louisiana; Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana; Caldwell Parish, Louisiana; Cameron Parish, Louisiana; Catahoula Parish, Louisiana; Claiborne Parish, Louisiana; Concordia Parish, Louisiana; Jefferson Davis Parish, Louisiana; De Soto Parish, Louisiana; East Carroll Parish, Louisiana; Evangeline Parish, Louisiana, Franklin Parish, Louisiana, Grant Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Jackson Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, La Salle Parish, Louisiana, Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, Madison Parish, Louisiana, Morehouse Parish, Louisiana, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, Rapides Parish, Louisiana, Red River Parish, Louisiana, Richland Parish, Louisiana, Sabine Parish, Louisiana, Saint Landry Parish, Louisiana, Saint Martin Parish, Louisiana, Saint Mary Parish, Louisiana, Tensas Parish, Louisiana, Union Parish, Louisiana, Vermilion Parish, Louisiana, Vernon Parish, Louisiana, Webster Parish, Louisiana, West Carroll Parish, Louisiana, and Winn Parish, Louisiana.
History
On March 26, 1804, Congress organized the Territory of Orleans and created the United States District Court for the District of Orleans - the only time Congress provided a territory with a district court equal in its authority and jurisdiction to those of the states. The United States District Court for the District of Louisiana was established on April 8, 1812, by 2 Stat. 701, several weeks before Louisiana was formally admitted as a state of the union. The District was thereafter subdivided and reformed several times. It was first subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1823, by 3 Stat. 774.
On February 13, 1845, Louisiana was reorganized into a single District with one judgeship, by 5 Stat. 722, but was again divided into Eastern and the Western Districts on March 3, 1849, by 9 Stat. 401. Congress again abolished the Western District of Louisiana and reorganized Louisiana as a single judicial district on July 27, 1866, by 14 Stat. 300. On March 3, 1881, by 21 Stat. 507, Louisiana was for a third time divided into Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each. The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on December 18, 1971, by 85 Stat. 741.
U.S. attorneys
[1]
A partial list of United States attorneys in Louisiana, including some serving during territorial status:
- James Brown - Appointed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1805
- James R. Grymes - Appointed by President James Madison in 1811
- John Dick - 1815
- Henry Boyce - Appointed by President Zachary Taylor in March 1849
- Harvey Locke Carey - Appointed in 1950 by President Harry Truman
- Lawrence P. Chain
- Harvey Fields - Appointed in 1937 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
- William J. Fleniken - Appointed by President Truman to succeed Harvey Carey early in 1952
- George W. Jack - Appointed by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913
- Malcolm Lafargue - Appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1941 to succeed Harvey Fields
- Donald Ellsworth Walter - Appointed by President Richard M. Nixon, served 1969 to 1977; later U.S. district judge in 1985
- Donald W. Washington - Appointed by President George W. Bush in September 2001
- Stephanie A. Finley - Appointed by President Barack Obama in January 2010. Took oath of office on June 2, 2010.
- Alexander C. Van Hook - Acting since March 11, 2017
Current judges
Vacancies and pending nominations
Former judges
Succession of seats
See also
- Courts of Louisiana
- List of United States federal courthouses in Louisiana
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
- United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana
- United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- W. Burch Lee, clerk of the Court for the Western District of Louisiana, 1918-1933
Notes
External links
- Official Website of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
- United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Louisiana