Louisiana Amendment 1, Allow Legislature to Create Trial Courts of Specialized Jurisdiction and Provide Supreme Court Original Jurisdiction to Discipline Out-of-State Lawyers Amendment (March 2025)

Louisiana Amendment 1
Election date March 29, 2025
Topic State judicial authority and State judiciary structure
Status Defeated
Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Louisiana Amendment 1, the Allow Legislature to Create Trial Courts of Specialized Jurisdiction and Provide Supreme Court Original Jurisdiction to Discipline Out-of-State Lawyers Amendment, was on the ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on March 29, 2025. It was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported this constitutional amendment to:  provide the Louisiana Supreme Court with original jurisdiction to discipline out-of-state lawyers, not just members of the state bar, and allow the state legislature to establish trial courts with limited or specialized jurisdiction, such as business courts, through a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate.

A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment, thus: continuing to provide the Louisiana Supreme Court with original jurisdiction to discipline members of the state bar but not out-of-state lawyers and continuing to allow the legislature to create trial courts with limited, but not specialized, jurisdiction.

Election results

Louisiana Amendment 1
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		221,355	34.94%
No		412,108	65.06%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would the amendment have done?

See also: Constitutional changes

The amendment would have allowed the Louisiana State Legislature to create trial courts of specialized jurisdictions. As of 2025, the state legislature could establish trial courts of limited jurisdictions (but not specialized) with a simple majority vote. The amendment would have required a two-thirds supermajority vote to establish trial courts of specialized or limited jurisdictions.

The amendment would have given the Louisiana Supreme Court the exclusive original jurisdiction to discipline any lawyer specially admitted to a court for a particular proceeding, as well as any out-of-state lawyers who are not members of the state bar. As of 2025, the state supreme court had original jurisdiction to discipline members of the state bar.

What are limited and special jurisdiction courts?

See also: Background

Limited jurisdiction courts have the legal authority restricted to specific subjects, cases, or persons. Going into the election, Louisiana had six types of limited jurisdiction courts: family courts, juvenile courts, parish courts, city courts, mayor's courts, and justice of the peace courts.

Louisiana has special jurisdiction courts, including four juvenile courts and a family court, in East Baton Rouge parish. These courts have exclusive original jurisdiction in cases related to juveniles and adoptions and for divorce in the family court.

What did supporters and opponents say about this amendment?

See also: Support and Opposition

State Sen. Jay Morris (R-35), who sponsored the amendment in the state Senate, said, "Twenty-seven states have business courts to handle complex or highly specialized cases, including Texas recently enacted one, and right now under our constitution we can only create a court that had parish-wide jurisdiction, nothing beyond that."

Say No! to Them All formed to campaign in opposition to the four measures on the March 2025 ballot. Opponents included the ACLU of Louisiana, Invest in Louisiana, and Louisiana Center for Children's Rights. Say No! to Them All said, "The 'trial courts of limited and specialized jurisdiction' in Amendment 1 are meant to let Baton Rouge insiders set up special, can’t-lose courts for their friends and special, can’t-win courts for their enemies."

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Do you support an amendment granting the Louisiana Supreme Court jurisdiction to discipline out-of-state lawyers for unethical legal practices in the state of Louisiana, and to grant the legislature the authority to establish trial courts of limited and specialized jurisdiction? (Amends Article V, Sections 5(B), 15(A) and 16(A))

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article V, Louisiana Constitution

The measure would have amended Sections 5(B), 15(A), and 16(A) of Article V of the Louisiana Constitution. The following underlined text would have been added and struck-through text would have been deleted. Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

§5. Supreme Court; Jurisdiction; Rule-Making Power; Assignment of Judges

Section 5.(A)

(B) Original Jurisdiction. The supreme court has exclusive original jurisdiction of disciplinary proceedings against a member of the bar and any lawyer specially admitted by a court of this state for a particular proceeding, as well as any lawyer not admitted in this state who practices law or renders or offers to render any legal services in this state.

§15. Courts; Retention; Jurisdiction; Judicial District Changes; Terms Section 15.(A) Court Retention; Trial Courts of Limited Jurisdiction. The district, family, juvenile, parish, city, and magistrate courts existing on the effective date of this constitution are retained. Subject to the limitations in Sections 16 and 21 of this Article, the legislature by law may abolish or merge trial courts of limited or specialized jurisdiction. The legislature by law may establish trial courts of limited or specialized jurisdiction with parishwide territorial jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction which shall be uniform throughout the state by law enacted by two thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature. Effective January 1, 2007, the legislature by law may establish new judgeships for district courts and establish the new divisions with limited or specialized jurisdiction within the territorial jurisdiction of the district court and subject matter jurisdiction over family or juvenile matters as provided by law. The office of city marshal is continued until the city court he serves is abolished.

§16. District Courts; Jurisdiction

Section 16.(A) Original Jurisdiction. (1) Except as otherwise authorized by this constitution or except as heretofore or hereafter provided by law for administrative agency determinations in worker's compensation matters, a district court shall have original jurisdiction of all civil and criminal matters. (2) It Except as otherwise authorized under this constitution, it shall have exclusive original jurisdiction of felony cases and of cases involving title to immovable property, except as provided in (3) below; the right to office or other public position; civil or political right; probate and succession matters; except for administrative agency determination provided for in (1) above, the state, a political corporation, or political subdivisions, or a succession, as a defendant; and the appointment of receivers or liquidators for corporations or partnerships. (3) The legislature may provide by law that a family court has jurisdiction of cases involving title to movable and immovable property when those cases relate to the partition of community property and the settlement of claims arising from matrimonial regimes when such action arises as a result of divorce or annulment of marriage.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Sen. Jay Morris (R)
• State Rep. Dixon McMakin (R)

Organizations

• Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
• Pelican Institute for Public Policy

Arguments

• State Sen. Jay Morris (R-35): "Twenty-seven states have business courts to handle complex or highly specialized cases, including Texas recently enacted one, and right now under our constitution we can only create a court that had parish-wide jurisdiction, nothing beyond that."
• Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana Voter Guide: "The current constitutional provision is too restrictive. Lawmakers should have more flexibility to create specialized courts where they see a need. District judges who spend their days working on criminal cases, vehicle accident cases and other routine litigation found in courtrooms often don’t have the time or the expertise to hear complex business or class action lawsuits. Meanwhile, some parishes and judicial districts are rural and small with too few judges to handle the addition of specialty treatment-focused courts, such as drug courts and behavioral health courts. Allowing regions to create such courts would help rural areas to have enough money and resources to pay for a specialty court, staff it and provide adequate training for its judges. Requiring a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate keeps a high threshold for passage of new specialty courts."

Opposition

Say No! to Them All led the campaign in opposition to the four measures on the March 2025 ballot.

Opponents

Organizations

• ACLU of Louisiana
• Invest in Louisiana
• Louisiana Center for Children's Rights

Arguments

• State Sen. Gary Carter Jr. (D-7): "It’s very vague. It’s unclear what they’re trying to do. If we had specifics — like this is exactly the court that they want to create — we could consider it. Many people are concerned that it’s a way to take power away from the judges that we have in the cities in the greater New Orleans area."
• Say No! to Them All: "The 'trial courts of limited and specialized jurisdiction' in Amendment 1 are meant to let Baton Rouge insiders set up special, can’t-lose courts for their friends and special, can’t-win courts for their enemies."
• Power Coalition for Equity and Justice: "This amendment isn’t about disciplining out-of-state attorneys. Out-of-state attorneys already get disciplined and disbarred for their actions in Louisiana, ALL THE TIME. So, what aren’t they telling us? This amendment sounds like politicians can punish out-of-state attorneys doing work they don’t agree with under the guise of ethics complaints."
• Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana Voter Guide: "Louisiana has more judges per capita than many other states, according to several studies. The ability for lawmakers to more easily create specialty courts would worsen the problem and drive up court system costs, requiring taxpayers to pay more for judges, their staff and other expenses. Lawmakers should look first to restructure the existing court system before asking voters to allow further expansions. Furthermore, the proposal is unnecessary because lawmakers already can create district-level specialty courts. In addition, the amendment’s language is too vague, without any detail of what courts its supporters intend to create or how they would function. The changes could be inappropriately used to usurp the powers of a local district court. The judiciary didn’t ask for this amendment. More study and participation from the judicial branch should be done before rewriting the constitution."

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Louisiana ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through April 28, 2025.

Vera Institute of Justice Inc. registered to oppose Amendment 1 and three other amendments on the March 2025 ballot. The committee reported $559,674.75 in contributions. It is unknown how much was spent on each measure individually.

Ballotpedia did not identify committees registered to support Amendment 1.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$559,674.75	$0.00	$559,674.75	$559,674.75	$559,674.75
Total	$559,674.75	$0.00	$559,674.75	$559,674.75	$559,674.75

Opposition

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in opposition to Amendment 1.

Committees in opposition to Amendment 1
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Vera Institute of Justice Inc.	$559,674.75	$0.00	$559,674.75	$559,674.75	$559,674.75
Total	$559,674.75	$0.00	$559,674.75	$559,674.75	$559,674.75

Donors

Following are the top donors to the committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Vera Institute of Justice Inc	$449,639.75	$0.00	$449,639.75
ACLU of Louisiana	$25,000.00	$0.00	$25,000.00
Foundation for Louisiana	$25,000.00	$0.00	$25,000.00
Louisiana Center for Children's Rights	$20,000.00	$0.00	$20,000.00
Navigation Charitable Fund	$20,000.00	$0.00	$20,000.00

Methodology

To read Ballotpedia's methodology for covering ballot measure campaign finance information, click here.

Media editorials

See also: 2025 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

You can share campaign information or arguments, along with source links for this information, at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Opposition

• NOLA Editorial Board: "While we applaud the use of specialty courts, we do not think expanding the number of judges and courts is warranted. It is likely just to create higher costs for Louisiana's taxpayers and increased fees for those seeking redress through the judicial system. Additionally, the Supreme Court already has power to discipline attorneys who practice in the state. We urge voters to reject this proposed amendment."

Background

Louisiana State Bar Association

The Louisiana Supreme Court has exclusive original jurisdiction of disciplinary proceedings against a member of the bar. A state bar is a bar association representing attorneys licensed to practice law in a particular state. The Louisiana State Bar had 19,524 lawyers admitted as of 2024.

Reciprocity and pro hac vice admissions

Louisiana does not provide for reciprocity, which allows lawyers licensed and admitted to the bar in another state to practice in Louisiana.

Louisiana allows for pro hac vice admission, which allows an out-of-state attorney to participate in a specific case in the state. The out-of-state attorney must first submit an application for pro hac vice admission, along with a $450 filing fee, with verification from the in-state attorney with whom they intend to associate, to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board. Upon submission, the Disciplinary Board forwards the application to the Disciplinary Counsel, who reviews and either approves or denies it. Once the Disciplinary Counsel approves the application, the in-state attorney must file an ex parte motion in the court where the case is pending, requesting admission of the out-of-state attorney on a pro hac vice basis. Courts are prohibited from considering any motion for pro hac vice admission that is filed within 30 days of the scheduled trial date. Since 2004, there has been one case of an attorney being denied pro hac vice admission due to too many frequent appearances.

Louisiana Supreme Court

The supreme court has jurisdiction to review judgments by the court of appeals in both civil and criminal cases. Jurisdiction for appeal in all criminal cases, except death penalty cases, is given to the court of appeals, based on the Louisiana Jurisdiction in Criminal Cases Amendment (1980). The jurisdiction of the supreme court in civil cases extends to both law and facts, while in criminal cases jurisdiction extends to questions of law.

The supreme court has jurisdiction in cases where a law or ordinance has been declared unconstitutional. The court also has exclusive jurisdiction in cases involving the discipline of judges.

The chief justice is the chief administrative officer of the judicial system and the supreme court has supervisory powers over all lower courts, as well as administrative, and procedural rule-making powers. The court also has supervisory responsibility for acceptance of attorneys into the bar and for judicial misconduct, where recommendations for actions are sent to the court by the Judiciary Commission of Louisiana.

Justices

The table below lists the current judges of the Louisiana Supreme Court, their political party, and when they assumed office.

Office	Name	Party	Date assumed office
Louisiana Supreme Court 2nd District	John Guidry	Democratic	January 1, 2025
Louisiana Supreme Court 3rd District	Cade Cole	Republican	March 10, 2025
Louisiana Supreme Court 4th District	Jay B. McCallum	Republican	November 13, 2020
Louisiana Supreme Court 5th District	Jefferson Hughes	Republican	February 1, 2013
Louisiana Supreme Court 6th District	John L. Weimer	Independent	2001
Louisiana Supreme Court 7th District	Piper Griffin	Democratic	January 1, 2021

Types of court jurisdictions

Original jurisdiction

See also: Original jurisdiction

Original jurisdiction is the right of a court to hear a case for the first time. It can be distinguished from appellate jurisdiction, which is the right of a court to review a case that has already been heard and decided upon by a lower court.

Limited jurisdiction

See also: Limited jurisdiction

Limited jurisdiction is a type of jurisdiction conferred on courts with legal authority restricted to specific subjects, cases or persons. Examples of limited jurisdiction courts include family courts, traffic courts, probate courts, and military courts.

Names given to courts of limited jurisdiction

Clearly defined limited jurisdiction courts are present in 46 states. Washington, D.C., and four states (California, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota) do not have such courts.

Most limited jurisdiction courts are found at the state court level.

A court whose subject matter is not limited to certain types of cases is referred to as a court of general jurisdiction.

Subject-matter jurisdiction

See also: Subject-matter jurisdiction

Subject-matter jurisdiction is the authority of a court to hear and determine cases of the general class to which the proceedings in question belong. For example, a bankruptcy court has the authority to hear only bankruptcy cases. Similarly, a small claims court has a monetary limit when it comes to awarding money to a plaintiff.

Limited jurisdiction courts in Louisiana

Louisiana has six types of limited jurisdiction courts: family courts, juvenile courts, parish courts, city courts, mayor's courts, and justice of the peace courts.

Judges for these courts are elected to six-year terms, except for judges of the Louisiana Mayor's Courts, which are are selected in varying manners for varying term lengths depending on the municipality.

Special jurisdiction courts in Louisiana

Louisiana has four juvenile courts and a family court in East Baton Rouge parish. These courts have exclusive original jurisdiction in cases related to juveniles and adoptions, and for divorce in the family court.

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Louisiana Constitution

In Louisiana, a two-thirds vote is needed in each chamber of the Louisiana State Legislature to refer a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.

This amendment was introduced as Senate Bill 1. It was passed in the Senate by a vote of 30-6 on November 14, 2024. It was passed and amended in the House, where it was approved by a vote of 73-25. The Senate concurred with the House's amendments on November 22, in a vote of 29-6.

Partisan Direction Index = +88.6% (Republican)

Democratic Support

11.4%

Republican Support

100.0%

How does this vote compare to other legislative ballot measures in 2025?
Learn more about the ballot measures PDI →

Louisiana House of Representatives

Voted on November 22, 2024

Votes Required to Pass: 70
	Yes	No	NV
Total	73	25	7
Total %	69.5%	23.8%	6.7%
Democratic (D)	3	25	4
Republican (R)	69	0	3
Independent (I)	1	0	0

Louisiana State Senate

Voted on November 22, 2024

Votes Required to Pass: 26
	Yes	No	NV
Total	29	6	4
Total %	74.4%	15.4%	10.3%
Democratic (D)	1	6	4
Republican (R)	28	0	0

Lawsuit

Lawsuit overview
Issue: Whether the state legislature followed proper procedures to refer Amendment 1 and 3 to the ballot; whether the proposed amendments violate the separate vote requirement
Court: Louisiana Supreme Court
Plaintiff(s): Voice of the Experienced (VOTE)	Defendant(s): The state legislature and elections officials

  Source: NOLA

Voice of the Experienced (VOTE) filed a lawsuit alleging that Amendment 1 and Amendment 3 should be removed from the March 29 ballot. Plaintiffs alleged that Amendment 1 was advanced to the floor of the House despite a committee voting against the amendment and alleged that the amendment unconstitutionally addresses more than one change. Plaintiffs also alleged that Amendment 3 did not fit within the boundaries of the governor's call for the special session in which it was passed. VOTE said, "The same rules they expect us to follow, they’ve ignored. They assume nobody’s paying attention, but we know how these systems work."

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Louisiana

See below to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Louisiana.

How to vote in Louisiana

Poll times

In Louisiana, polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time for Tuesday elections. For Saturday elections, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central Time. Anyone in line when the polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Louisiana, one must provide documentary proof of United States citizenship and be a resident of the state and parish in which they register. A voter must be at least 18 years old by Election Day.

Registration completed via mail or in person must occur at least 30 days before Election Day. Registration completed online must occur at least 20 days before Election Day. Registrants must present a valid form of identification to register. Pre-registration is available beginning at age 16 for voters registering at a Registrar of Voters office or at the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles.

Voters may register in person at any Registrar of Voters office or any of the following places:

• Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles
• Louisiana Department of Social Services
• WIC offices
• Food stamp offices
• Medicaid offices
• Offices serving persons with disabilities such as the Deaf Action Centers and Independent Living Offices
• Armed Forces recruitment offices

Automatic registration

See also: Automatic voter registration

Louisiana does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Louisiana has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

See also: Same-day voter registration

Louisiana does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

Louisiana law requires 20 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Louisiana state law requires a voter registration applicant to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote. As of February 2026, the state had not implemented the requirement.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Eight states — Alabama, Arizona, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming — have laws requiring individuals provide proof of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. Three states, Florida, Georgia and Mississippi, require a person provide proof of citizenship if their citizenship status cannot be verified by other means. One state, Ohio, requires proof of citizenship only when registering to vote at a Bureau of Motor Vehicles facility. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The site Geaux Vote, run by the Louisiana Secretary of State office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Louisiana requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

Voters can present the following forms of identification. This list was current as of November 2025. Click here to ensure you have the most current information.

“

Each voter is required to identify themselves by giving their name and address to a commissioner and by presenting either a Louisiana driver's license, a Louisiana special identification card, LA Wallet digital driver's license, a United States military identification card that contains the voter's name and picture or other generally recognized picture identification card that contains the name and signature of the applicant. If no photo ID is available, the voter can complete a Voter Identification Affidavit (AV-34) but is subject to challenge by law.

”

To view Louisiana state law pertaining to voter identification, click here.

Registered voters can bring their voter information card to the Office of Motor Vehicles to receive a free Louisiana special identification card.

See also

2025 measures

• 2025 ballot measures
• State judiciary on the ballot

Louisiana

• Louisiana ballot measures
• Louisiana ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Senate Bill 1

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