Louisiana

Just north of the Gulf of Mexico at the mouth of the Mississippi River is the location of Louisiana. It is surrounded to the west by Texas, to the north by Arkansas, and to the east by Mississippi. During the 18th century, it was a colony of France, but in 1803, as part of the famous Louisiana Purchase, it became an American territory which ultimately, in 1812, became a member of the union. Baton Rouge is the capital city of Louisiana, and the beautiful port city of New Orleans–which is famous for its Mardi Gras festival, delicious food, and jazz music–calls the state home.

Louisiana does not use the term counties in its division but calls them parishes instead. There are 64 parishes in Louisiana, of which 41 are governed by a council called a Police Jury. The other 23 parishes have different forms of governance which include parish commission, president-council, consolidated city/parish, and council-manager.

The judicial system of Louisiana is unique and different from the rest of the states because it is the only civil law state. In a civil law state, a case can only be intervened with or decided by the judicial courts if it is outlined in the state’s statutes.

The power of the judicial system in Louisiana is held by the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and District Courts, along with other courts such as the justice of the peace courts, mayor’s courts, city courts, and parish courts.

The justices’ positions are an elective office. Elections coincide with congressional elections, but special elections can be done if there happens to be a vacancy in a judge’s office or there is a newly-created position. The governor has the power to call for this special election and the supreme court can temporarily name an appointee until the position is filled.

Offender Search Web Page

The purpose and specifics of the Offender Search Web Page in each state varies. Read the disclosures carefully. Updates to the database could be biweekly, monthly and daily depending on the states Corrections Department schedule. Some searches show offenders incarcerated in the entire prison system including county jails and some only state prisons. Sometimes historical offender data is available and sometimes only current inmate records are listed. Youth and adult offenders are sometimes located on separate search portals.

Jails

Court Clerk

Correctional Facility