Supreme Court of Louisiana

The Louisiana Supreme Court held that Act 748, which abolished three judgeships in the Orleans Parish criminal district court, was constitutionally enacted under Article V §32 and therefore valid.

The court held that local-rule provisions authorizing an Orleans Parish Juvenile Court hearing officer to issue arrest and search warrants were invalid because they conflicted with governing statutes and the Louisiana Constitution.

The court affirmed the trial court’s order vacating Duncan’s first-degree murder conviction and death sentence because newly presented evidence, considered with the entire record, established by clear and convincing evidence that no rational juror would have convicted him beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court held that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, permitted a rational factfinder to find Stewart guilty of second degree murder beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court held that forfeiture under La. R.S. 23:1208 begins when the employee makes the willful misrepresentation, rather than reaching back to the date of the accident. Reading the forfeiture and restitution provisions together, the court concluded that retroactive forfeiture would conflict with the statute’s…

The court answered certified questions concerning whether attorney misconduct affects contingent-fee contracts and whether a prematurely terminated attorney may recover fees and costs.

The court held that dismissal under Article 934 follows automatically when a plaintiff fails to amend within the court-ordered period, unless the plaintiff obtains a stay preserving the amendment deadline.

The Supreme Court of Louisiana modified the fault allocation in Thomas v. BNSF Railway, raising the plaintiff’s fault to 75% and reducing the railroad’s fault to 25%, and affirmed the amended judgment.

The court held La. R.S. 15:168(E)(3) unconstitutional because it bars courts from ordering payment of indigent-defense expenses and thereby infringes the district courts’ constitutional jurisdiction and inherent authority, as well as a defendant’s right to seek judicial review.

The court held that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, permitted a rational jury to find both brothers guilty of second degree murder and to reject the defense’s hypotheses of misidentification.

The court rejected the Judiciary Commission's recommendation of a thirty-day suspension and instead suspended Judge John C. Reeves without pay for twenty days. The court concluded that accepting a monetary gratuity from a litigant after performing official judicial duties seriously harmed the integrity and reputation…

The court held that the succession could seek reimbursement for Richard’s separate-fund contribution to the jointly titled DeLimon property, the one-million-dollar check, and the tax overpayment Penny used for her separate tax liabilities.

The court held that a tortfeasor and liability insurer may not reduce a third-party vehicle-damage recovery by deducting betterment when new parts are required to restore the vehicle.

The court held that an injured employee's claim was facially prescribed because the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Law provides no exception merely because the employee continued working at full wages after an immediately manifesting injury.

The court found that Klein knowingly and intentionally misrepresented or failed to disclose his disciplinary history in pro hac vice applications and made a false representation to a federal court, in violation of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

The court held that legal interest on a tort judgment runs by operation of law from the date of judicial demand, despite a judgment’s mistaken reference to a later date as the date of demand.

The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by denying the State's request to stay a wrongful-conviction compensation proceeding while the petitioner's related federal civil-rights action remained pending.

The court affirmed the denial of Lowry’s motion to suppress, holding that data could be extracted from phones seized under valid warrants within the statutory 10-day period even when extraction occurred later.

The court held that the State may appeal a trial court's ruling granting parole eligibility and resentencing a juvenile homicide offender after a retroactive parole-eligibility hearing.

The court held that the Federal Railroad Safety Act and its ballast regulation do not preclude an employee’s Federal Employers’ Liability Act action because the statutes are complementary and Congress did not make the federal safety regime exclusive of FELA claims.

The Supreme Court of Louisiana affirmed the appellate court’s decision that a plaintiff satisfies La. C.C.P. art. 1201(C) by merely requesting service of citation within ninety days, without the need to pay all associated fees in that period.

The court found by clear and convincing evidence that Judge Medley knowingly made false campaign statements about her judicial opponent and intentionally failed to report two campaign expenditures, violating specified judicial-conduct provisions and the state constitution.

The Supreme Court of Louisiana reversed the Court of Appeal and reinstated the trial‑court judgment, holding that La.R.S. 13:3923 permits a trial court to reopen a judgment pro confesso when material information was omitted and applying the statute would produce an absurd result.

The court held that Werner Delaware and New Werner were not manufacturers under the Louisiana Products Liability Act because they neither made nor distributed the ladder, labeled it as their own, nor meaningfully engaged with or controlled it.

The court held that, for tax sales occurring after the 2008 revision to Title 47, failure to provide pre-sale notice does not create an absolute nullity, and a nullity claim filed in a quiet-title action must satisfy both the applicable nullity prescriptive period and the quiet-title deadline.

The court found that Judge Foret’s repeated outbursts, profanity, and disrespectful conduct in several cases violated judicial-conduct canons and constituted willful misconduct in his official duties.

The court affirmed the reinstatement of the civil service board’s ninety-day suspension of Reginald Brown rather than his termination. It held that the board’s disciplinary decision, including its decision to reduce the penalty, is subject to judicial review, but that a reviewing court may not modify the penalty when…

The Louisiana Supreme Court held that the false-personation statute does not require proof that the privilege or advantage sought was available only to law enforcement. Applying the constitutional sufficiency standard, it concluded that the evidence supported findings that Ruffins impersonated an officer to seek paid…

The court held that the workers’ compensation manual-labor exception covers only an independent contractor who contracted directly with the principal, so the plaintiffs could pursue tort claims against Enable.

The court affirmed dismissal of Williams’s petition because he sought judicial review 507 days after parole revocation, beyond the statutory 90-day peremptive period. It also concluded that his written waiver of revocation hearings was valid, that due process did not require the hearings on these facts even if the…

The court held that the parish’s multi-year waste-collection contract was a debt subject to State Bond Commission approval because it lacked a non-appropriation clause. Since the parish did not obtain approval, the contract was null and unenforceable, and summary judgment dismissing the contractor’s claims was proper…

The Supreme Court of Louisiana affirmed the Court of Appeal’s reversal of the district court’s judgment reinstating Theophilus Roland’s commercial driver’s license, holding that the appellate court applied the wrong standard of review but nonetheless reached the correct result because the traffic stop was valid and…

The court held that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to forcibly stop K.B., who had not been identified as a person of interest and had done nothing independently suspicious before the command to stop.

The court held that prosecutors may not join capital charges with non-capital felony charges because the Louisiana Constitution preserves distinct modes of trial and permits joinder only within the categories authorized by its text.

The court held that the five-year prescriptive period for enforcing the subdivision violation began when the McCormick deed was recorded, not when the parish discovered or investigated the violation.

The court held that abandonment became effective automatically after more than three years without a step in the prosecution or defense. A defendant's post-abandonment conduct waives abandonment only when it clearly and directly renounces that defense by demonstrating an intent to proceed, and the short general-denial…

The court held that the district court abused its discretion by excluding the defendants’ surveillance evidence without first reviewing it in camera and considering the proffered investigator testimony.

The court held that a notarial will is absolutely null when the testator signs his full name only on the final page and places initials on the other pages. Because the governing statute mandates that the testator sign his name at the end and on each separate page, initials do not satisfy the requirement and…

The Louisiana Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeal’s decision, holding that the trial judge did not abuse discretion in removing a juror who was repeatedly observed sleeping and that the defendant’s absence from a sidebar discussion did not violate his statutory right to be present because counsel was present…

On rehearing, the court concluded that the post-conviction record did not establish a Brady violation, knowing use of false testimony, actual innocence, or ineffective assistance of guilt-phase counsel.