Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer was named as a Board Member of the Conference of Chief Justices (CCJ) at its Annual Meeting earlier this year. Chief Justice Weimer’s term as a Board Member expires in 2025.

At general meetings held during the 2023 Fall Judges Conference, officers were elected by the membership of judicial associations representing different levels of courts in Louisiana.

The Court Case Management Information Systems (CMIS) Division of the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Office of the Judicial Administrator, which is responsible for reporting certain qualifying information relative to firearms denials to federal partners and databases, was recently recognized as a national leader in reporting that data.

In observance of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Louisiana Supreme Court and Law Library of Louisiana recently published a special series of articles highlighting Louisiana’s Spanish colonial roots.

Louisiana judges gathered at St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square for the 71st annual Red Mass, which marks the opening of the judicial year. Traditionally, Red Mass is held the first Monday in October. Members of the bench and bar, as well as officials of all faiths and the public, were invited to attend.

In observance of Constitution Day 2023, Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer hosted 120 students and teachers from Lafourche Parish at the Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero, Jr. Courthouse.

The Louisiana Supreme Court congratulates several local honorees recently recognized at the 2023 American Judges Association’s (AJA) 62nd Annual Conference.

The Louisiana Supreme Court is celebrating Constitution Day 2023 by offering free pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution from Monday, September 18, 2023 through Friday, September 22, 2023 to visitors of the Chief Justice Pascal F. Calogero, Jr. Courthouse, located at 400 Royal Street in New Orleans’ French Quarter.

Retired Louisiana Supreme Clerk of Court Frans J. Labranche, Jr., 89, passed away on Friday, September 8, 2023. Mr. Labranche served at the state’s high court for 18 years, serving as clerk of court from 1978-1996 and was a deputy clerk from 1977-1978.

The Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) recently received the Harrison Tweed Award, a significant and important national honor, for its volunteer efforts to help impoverished citizens of our state with invaluable and needed legal services.

The Supreme Court of Louisiana invites qualified vendors to respond with information (“RFI Responses”) to assist the Court in gathering information regarding commercially available Document Management System (DMS) solutions. The Court seeks a state-of-the-art system to streamline its document-related processes, enhance collaboration, and ensure efficient management of court records, both case specific and administrative. RFI Responses will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. (CST) on Thursday, September 28, 2023.

The Louisiana Supreme Court has appointed Jefferson Parish attorney and former state Representative Joseph A. Marino III as Judge pro tempore of Division D of the 24th Judicial District Court, to fill the vacancy created by the election of 24th JDC Judge Scott Schlegel to the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. The appointment of attorney Marino as Judge pro tempore is for the period of August 28, 2023 through December 31, 2023, or until the vacancy is filled, whichever occurs sooner.

Retired 16th Judicial District Court Judge William D. Hunter, who was one of the early pioneers of the drug court movement in Louisiana, died on July 24, 2023 at the age of 85.

Louisiana Supreme Court Justice William J. Crain was honored by Crimefighters, Inc. with the Judge of the Year Award at the organization’s annual gala on July 25, 2023.

The Louisiana Supreme Court released an Order lifting in thirty days the global stay it previously imposed in the multitude of hurricane and storm-related suits filed by McClenny, Moseley and Associates, PLLC (“MMA”) in Louisiana state courts. The stay will be lifted effective August 21, 2023. Although the Court’s order lifts the global stay, the order empowers trial courts to issue further stays in cases filed by MMA or former MMA clients as the interests of justice may require, in addition to issuing stays of up to 120 days for the purpose of facilitating the ability of newly retained attorneys of former MMA clients to investigate their clients’ claims.

The Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court congratulate the Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) on being selected to receive the 2023 Harrison Tweed Award presented by the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defense (SCLAID) and the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA). The award, which will be presented at the ABA Annual Meeting in Denver Colorado on August 4, 2023, recognizes the extraordinary achievements of state and local bar associations that develop or significantly expand projects or programs to increase access to civil legal services to persons living in poverty or criminal defense services to indigents.

Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer recently had the honor of meeting a fellow Chief Justice, Thomas F. Block, at Weimer’s office in Thibodaux. This fellow Chief Justice, however, still has his sights set on high school graduation.

Orleans Parish judges commemorated Law Day 2023 by hosting students from area schools throughout the month of May. Spearheaded by Louisiana Supreme Court Justice Piper D. Griffin, judges from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, Orleans Criminal District Court, Orleans Juvenile Court, and New Orleans First City Court spent time in their respective courthouses with students discussing aspects of the law. This is the first of many civic and community outreach initiatives planned for the parish by a strong coalition of Orleans Parish judges.

The Supreme Court of Louisiana, Office of the Judicial Administrator (“Court”) invites qualified Louisiana licensed attorneys to submit proposals to serve as an independent legal consultant to the Louisiana Protective Order Registry (“LPOR”). Sealed proposals will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. (CST) on Tuesday, August 8, 2023.

Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer and the Associate Justices announced today the Court’s unanimous support for the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Transition Into Program (TIP) mentoring program.

In order to protect the public, the administration of justice, and the interests of affected litigants, the Louisiana Supreme Court has stayed the multitude of hurricane and storm-related suits filed by McClenny, Moseley and Associates, PLLC (“MMA”) in Louisiana state courts pending further orders of the Supreme Court. The chief judge of every state court will provide to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel within twenty (20) days information relative to these lawsuits filed in each parish of the state.

Resolution Regarding Committee on Bar Admissions Funding

The Supreme Court of Louisiana, Office of the Judicial Administrator invites qualified business entities to submit proposals to develop an Intelligent Document Processing solution that extracts text from PDF files, identifies keywords and provides an easy-to-use data warehouse to uncover insights from the keywords in the documents. Proposals will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

On Friday, April 21, 2023, the Louisiana Supreme Court received the Louisiana Bar Foundation (LBF) 2023 Horn Blower Award during the LBF 37th Annual Fellows Gala at the National World War II Museum. The award was given in recognition of the Supreme Court’s outstanding support and leadership in promoting the LBF’s mission to advance the legal profession, increase public understanding of the legal system, and advance the reality of equal justice under the law. Alan G. Brackett, 2022-23 LBF president, presented the award to Chief Justice John L. Weimer, Justice James T. Genovese, and Justice Piper D. Griffin, who accepted the award on behalf of the Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court, including Justices Jefferson D. Hughes III, Scott J. Crichton, William J. Crain and Jay B. McCallum.

Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer and the Associate Justices announced today the Court’s adoption of amendments to Rule of Professional Conduct 1.10 pertaining to the imputation of conflicts of interest when lawyers are associated in a firm. The Rules of Professional Conduct set forth the standards of ethical conduct required of lawyers.

In recognition of the 65th annual celebration of Law Day, the Justices of the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a Resolution commemorating today as Law Day. The Resolution urges and requests “judges of the State of Louisiana to dedicate the month of May 2023 to reaching out to schools to provide students with an opportunity to learn about the law, the role of a judge and the court system from members of the judiciary.” The Law Day 2023 theme is “Cornerstones of Democracy: Civics, Civility, and Collaboration.”

The Supreme Court of Louisiana, Office of the Judicial Administrator invites qualified vendors to submit proposals to serve as a consultant to the Integrated Criminal Justice Information System (“ICJIS”) Policy Board. Proposals will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 21, 2023.

Orleans Civil District Court Judge Bernadette G. D’Souza was the invited keynote speaker at the opening ceremony of the International Society of Family Law (ISFL) Caribbean Regional Conference in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Human rights, child protection, and women and families advocates from around the world attended the conference, which highlighted the theme, “Safeguarding the Human Rights of Family Members from the Womb to the Tomb.” The conference chair was Independent Senator in the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago Hazel Thompson-Aye.

The Supreme Court of Louisiana invites qualified firms to submit proposals to provide professional/technical financial and performance internal auditing services. Proposals will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. (CST) on Friday, April 7, 2023.

Louisiana Supreme Court Justices, judges throughout the state, the Law Library of Louisiana and court staff are observing Black History Month in February through civic education initiatives that call attention to African American contributions to history and the legal profession. These initiatives will emphasize and recount these contributions through interaction with local school students and special informational publications and displays that are available to the public.

In 2019, the Supreme Court of Louisiana entered into an agreement with the United States Department of Justice, whereby the Supreme Court would oversee improved services for non-English speakers involved in criminal and civil litigation throughout the state. Pursuant to the agreement, the Supreme Court embarked on a system-wide study of state courts, ascertained areas for improvement, implemented various changes to court procedures, and took numerous additional steps.

Oaths of office were recently administered in Thibodaux, as both Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer as well as members of the Lafourche Parish School Board were sworn in for their new terms of office.

The Judiciary Commission of Louisiana (JCL) announced the appointment of two new members: Third Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Sharon Darville Wilson and Judith Rozier.