Louisiana Municipal Courts

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The Municipal Courts in Louisiana are courts of limited jurisdiction. With some exceptions, the municipal courts have concurrent jurisdiction with district courts and may preside over civil cases where the disputed amount is less than $15,000. Municipal courts do not hear jury trials.

The municipal courts may also handle cases involving violations of city ordinances and some state laws, and again depending on the municipality, the municipal courts may hear cases involving criminal and traffic matters.

The municipal courts do not hear cases involving:

• Felonies or misdemeanors that may be classified as felonies due to the number of prior offenses
• Title cases regarding immovable property
• Civil/political rights or the right to assume a public office
• Right to office or other public position
• Marriage or divorce
• Probate
• Habeus corpus, receiverships, quo warranto proceedings, liquidation, succession
• Proceedings involving a: tutorship, curatorship, emancipation, or partition
• Proceedings where the state, municipal, parish, etc. may be a defendant.

Judges

Municipal court judges serve six-year terms. The Louisiana Supreme Court is authorized to appoint attorneys as temporary or ad hoc judges of these courts.

History

Article V, Section 15, of the Louisiana Constitution states that any municipal courts existing before January 1, 1974, be retained. Nonetheless, the Louisiana State Legislature may "establish trial courts of limited jurisdiction with parishwide territorial jurisdiction and subject matter jurisdiction which shall be uniform throughout the state."

See also

• Courts in Louisiana
• Louisiana Parishes

External links

• Louisiana.gov, "Judicial Branch"
• Louisiana Municipal Association.org, "Chapter 5 Municipal Courts"