Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal

Judges of the Third Circuit Court of Appeal

The Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal is one of the five circuit courts of appeal in Louisiana, which handle appeals in civil and criminal court cases.

The court consists of 12 sitting judges and has jurisdiction over 21 parishes in the southwestern part of the state: Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Catahoula, Concordia, Evangeline, Grant, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Rapides, Sabine, St. Landry, St. Martin, Vermilion and Vernon.

The court meets at 1000 Main Street in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Published opinions of the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal can be found here.

 

Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal
Court information
Judges:	12
Founded:	1879
Salary:	Associates: $182,007
Judicial selection
Method:	Partisan election of judges
Term:	10 years

Judges

The current members of the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal are:

Judge	Tenure	Appointed By
Van H. Kyzar	2016 - Present
Elizabeth A. Pickett	1997 - Present
Shannon J. Gremillion	2008 - Present
Sharon Wilson	January 1, 2021 - Present
H. Guy Bradberry	January 1, 2023 - Present
Clayton Davis	January 1, 2025 - Present
Wilbur Stiles	January 1, 2023 - Present
Jonathan Perry	January 1, 2019 - Present
Charlie Fitzgerald	January 1, 2021 - Present
Gary J. Ortego	March 7, 2022 - Present
Ledricka Johnson Thierry	January 1, 2023 - Present
Candyce Perret	2017 - Present

Salary

See also: Louisiana court salaries and budgets

In 2025, the associate judges of the court received a salary of $182,007, according to the National Center for State Courts.

Judicial selection

See also: Judicial selection in Louisiana

The 53 justices on the Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal are elected in partisan elections. Justices serve 10-year terms and must run for re-election if they wish to continue serving on the court.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a judge must be:

• licensed to practice law in the state for at least ten years;
• a resident of the district representing for at least one year;
• under the age of 70 at the time of election (judges who turn 70 in office may serve until their term expires)

Chief justice

The chief justice is the justice on the court with the most seniority. When he or she retires, the justice with the next most seniority becomes chief justice.

Vacancies

Per Article V of the Louisiana Constitution, midterm vacancies are to be temporarily filled by the supreme court. Within one year of the opening, a special election (called by the governor, preferably on the date of a preexisting gubernatorial or congressional election) is to be held. If the supreme court has appointed a successor, that appointee may not run for the seat in the special election. The justice elected at the special election will serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

Elections

• 2030
• 2028
• 2026
• 2024
• 2022
• 2020
• 2018

See also: Louisiana intermediate appellate court elections, 2030

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

See also: Louisiana intermediate appellate court elections, 2028

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Louisiana intermediate appellate court elections, 2026

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Division B

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

Division C

There are no official candidates yet for this election.

See also: Louisiana intermediate appellate court elections, 2024

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District

General election

The general election scheduled for December 7, 2024, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

Nonpartisan primary election for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District

Clayton Davis (R) won election outright against Anthony Eaves (R) in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Clayton Davis (R)	60.6	62,122
		Anthony Eaves (R)	39.4	40,394

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 102,516
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

General election

The general election scheduled for December 7, 2024, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

The primary scheduled for November 5, 2024, was canceled. Incumbent Candyce Perret (R) won election in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District without appearing on the ballot.

See also: Louisiana intermediate appellate court elections, 2022

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 1st District

General election

The general election scheduled for December 10, 2022, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

The primary scheduled for November 8, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent Elizabeth A. Pickett (Independent) won election in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 1st District without appearing on the ballot.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District

General election

The general election scheduled for December 10, 2022, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

Nonpartisan primary election for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District

H. Guy Bradberry (R) won election outright against Clayton Davis (R) in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	H. Guy Bradberry (R)	50.7	36,009
	Submit photo	Clayton Davis (R)	49.3	35,019

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 71,028
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

General election

The general election scheduled for April 30, 2022, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

The primary scheduled for March 26, 2022, was canceled. Gary J. Ortego (R) won election in the special primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District without appearing on the ballot.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

General election

The general election scheduled for December 10, 2022, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

The primary scheduled for November 8, 2022, was canceled. Wilbur Stiles (R) won election in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District without appearing on the ballot.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

General election

The general election scheduled for December 10, 2022, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

Nonpartisan primary election for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

Ledricka Johnson Thierry (D) won election outright against Valerie Gotch Garrett (D) in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Ledricka Johnson Thierry (D)	67.2	17,271
		Valerie Gotch Garrett (D)	32.8	8,411

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,682
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

General election

The general election scheduled for December 10, 2022, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

The primary scheduled for November 8, 2022, was canceled. Incumbent Gary J. Ortego (R) won election in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District without appearing on the ballot.

See also: Louisiana intermediate appellate court elections, 2020

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District

General election

The general election scheduled for December 5, 2020, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

Nonpartisan primary election for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District

Sharon Wilson (D) won election outright against Ronald F. Ware (D) in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 2nd District on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Sharon Wilson (D)	56.6	11,158
	Submit photo	Ronald F. Ware (D)	43.4	8,562

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,720
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

General election

The general election scheduled for December 5, 2020, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

The primary scheduled for November 3, 2020, was canceled. Charlie Fitzgerald (R) won election in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District without appearing on the ballot.

Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

General election

The general election scheduled for December 8, 2018, was canceled.

Nonpartisan primary

Nonpartisan primary election for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District

Jonathan Perry (R) won election outright in the primary for Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal 3rd District on November 6, 2018.

		Candidate
✔		Jonathan Perry (R)

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Previous election results

2017

Main article: Louisiana judicial elections, 2017

Third District, Division B

This seat was formerly held by James Genovese, who was elected to the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2016.

■ Candyce Perret (R)
■ Susan Theall (R)
■ Vanessa Waguespack Anseman (R)

Election results

April 29 election

March 25 election

Candyce Perret and Susan Theall defeated Vanessa Waguespack Anseman in the primary election for the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, Third District, Division B.

Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal, Third District, Division B, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Candyce Perret	40.98%	16,599
	Republican	Susan Theall	36.66%	14,849
	Republican	Vanessa Waguespack Anseman	22.36%	9,058
Total Votes (530 of 530 reporting: 100%)				40,506
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State

2016

Third Circuit, First District, Division B

■ J. Christopher Peters (D)
■ Van H. Kyzar (D)

Third Circuit, First District, Division C

■ Shannon Gremillion (D) (Incumbent/Unopposed)

Election results

November 8 general election

Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal 2016, First District, Division B, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Van H. Kyzar	51.25%	53,627
	Democratic	J. Christopher Peters	48.75%	51,014
Total Votes (354 of 354 reporting: 100%)				104,641
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State Official Results

Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal 2016, First District, Division C, 2016
Party		Candidate
	Democratic	Shannon Gremillion Incumbent (unopposed)
Source: Louisiana Secretary of State Official Results

2014

District 2 Section 2A

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Primary Vote	Election Vote
SavoieD. Kent SavoieA	No	Republican	58.9%A	A
YelvertonJamie Yelverton	No	Republican	41.1%

Unopposed	Judge James Genovese (District 3 Division B)

See also: Louisiana judicial elections, 2014

2012

Candidate	Incumbency	Party	Place	Primary Vote	Election Vote
EzellBilly Ezell	Yes	Republican	2nd Dist, Sec. 2B	100%A
PickettElizabeth Pickett	Yes	Democratic	1st Dist, Div. A	100%A
ConeryJohn Conery	No	Republican	3rd Dist, Sec. 3E	100%A
SaundersJohn Saunders	Yes	Democratic	3rd Dist, Sec. 1C	100%A
CooksSylvia Cooks	Yes	Democratic	3rd Dist, Sec. 2D	100%A

See also: Louisiana judicial elections, 2012

Ethics

The Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct sets forth ethical guidelines and principles for the conduct of judges and judicial candidates in Louisiana. It consists of seven canons:

• Canon 1: A judge shall uphold the integrity and independence of the judiciary
• Canon 2: A judge shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all activities
• Canon 3: A judge shall perform the duties of office impartially and diligently
• Canon 4: Quasi-Judicial Activities: A judge may engage in quasi-judicial activities to improve the law, the legal system, and the administration of justice
• Canon 5: Extra-Judicial Activities: A judge shall regulate extra-judicial activities to minimize the risk of conflict with judicial duties
• Canon 6: A judge may accept reasonable compensation and expenses for quasi-judicial and extra-judicial activities; a judge may not accept gifts, loans, bequests, benefits, favors or other things of value except under restricted circumstances; a judge must report compensation, gifts, loans, bequests, benefits, favors and other things in some circumstances
• Canon 7: A judge or judicial candidate shall refrain from inappropriate political and campaign activity

The full text of the Louisiana Code of Judicial Conduct can be found here.

Removal of judges

Judges in Louisiana may be removed in one of two ways:

• By the Louisiana Supreme Court after recommendation from the Louisiana Judiciary Commission
• By a two-thirds vote of the Louisiana State Senate upon impeachment by the Louisiana House of Representatives

State profile

Demographic data for Louisiana
	Louisiana	U.S.
Total population:	4,668,960	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	43,204	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	62.8%	73.6%
Black/African American:	32.1%	12.6%
Asian:	1.7%	5.1%
Native American:	0.6%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	1.8%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	4.7%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	83.4%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	22.5%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$45,047	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	23.3%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Louisiana. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Presidential voting pattern

See also: Presidential voting trends in Louisiana

Louisiana voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

More Louisiana coverage on Ballotpedia

• Elections in Louisiana
• United States congressional delegations from Louisiana
• Public policy in Louisiana
• Endorsers in Louisiana
• Louisiana fact checks
• More...

See also

Louisiana	Judicial Selection	More Courts
Courts in Louisiana Louisiana Circuit Courts of Appeal Louisiana Supreme Court	Elections: 2025 • 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 Gubernatorial appointments Judicial selection in Louisiana	Federal courts State courts Local courts

External links

• State of Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal

Footnotes

Louisiana courts

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Federal courts:

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana

State courts:

Louisiana Supreme Court • Louisiana Courts of Appeal • Louisiana District Courts • Louisiana City Courts • Louisiana Family Courts • Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts • Louisiana Juvenile Courts • Louisiana Mayor’s Courts • Louisiana Municipal Courts • Louisiana Parish Courts • Louisiana Traffic Courts

State resources:

Courts in Louisiana • Louisiana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Louisiana