Orleans Parish civil court spared as state Senate votes to slash judges in New Orleans

By Matt Bruce

Source: The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com

April 20, 2026

Louisiana senators approved a revised measure to cut the number of judges in New Orleans after the bill’s author agreed to keep all 14 judges on the Orleans Parish Civil District Court bench.

Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, made the concession as he presented an amendment to his Senate Bill 217 on the floor Monday afternoon. It’s part of a slew of bills moving through the Legislature to shrink and consolidate New Orleans courts, measures that have drawn heated debate through the session.

Until Monday, Morris’ bill included losing two civil court judgeships, along with four of 13 criminal court seats, one judgeship in Juvenile Court and two in New Orleans Municipal and Traffic Court.

The amendment on Monday also would reduce the cuts at Criminal District Court from four to three, out of 12 districts and one magistrate judge.

“We received a lot of pushback,” Morris said after the amendment cleared the Senate on a 27-9 vote. “It was kind of a way to compromise a little bit.”

Morris said the resistance that compelled Monday’s amendment came from members of the New Orleans delegation in both chambers.

“The criminal court judges are what the state is now having to pay for fully, and that was a little bit more important than reducing the number of civil district court judges,” Morris said. “There’s no revenue stream from criminal court. There is from civil because of civil filings.”

Now, SB 217 moves to the House chamber as Rep. Dixon McMakin, R-Baton Rouge, positions a similar measure for final passage on that side. McMakin authored House Bill 911, which would merge Orleans civil, criminal and juvenile courts into a new 41st Judicial District Court and cut judgeships.

Critics of the push to cut the courts in Orleans Parish received some support from the watchdog Bureau of Governmental Research. In a report released Sunday, the group urged more analysis from the Louisiana Supreme Court on what Morris and other backers call a move to efficiency and uniformity.

Unlike all other parishes in the state, Orleans Parish has operated with three standalone courts for more than 100 years, despite past efforts by the Legislature to consolidate its courts. With encouragement from Gov. Jeff Landry, Republican proponents say the bills would save state taxpayers and the cash-strapped city of New Orleans a combined $2 million annually.

Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, who challenged the cuts Monday, argued that it amounts to outside lawmakers “flexing on the city.”

BGR argued that the estimated need for judges in Orleans Parish, based on a new formula developed last year by the Louisiana Supreme Court, was only a starting point, and that the Orleans criminal court has unique needs. The group urged the court to complete a supplemental analysis before the session ends.

In a criminal court system that has struggled with long waits to resolve cases, BGR argued that too-deep cuts could slow down dockets and stress an already full parish jail.

“Underinformed decisions based solely on the caseload formula risk cutting too many judges and delaying justice,” the report said.

The group has questioned the number of judges in New Orleans for years. It recommended steps for “right-sizing the courts” in a 2013 report.

The Supreme Court released a study in November that crafted a new “weighted caseload” for assessing the size of courts.

The Legislature in January asked the high court to apply that formula to all district courts that receive more than $1 million in state funding. Orleans Parish was the only court that fit that bill, according to a March 6 letter the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice John Weimer sent State Rep. Jack McFarland.

Under the formula, the Supreme Court calculated that New Orleans needs about 13 civil court judges; it currently has 14. The formula found that the criminal court needs at least 8 district judges. New Orleans’ juvenile court, which currently has four judges, needs at least 1.2 judges under the formula, the court found.

Weimer cautioned McFarland that the formula was a “preliminary starting point” for an assessment that should include visits to the courts to talk to judges, magistrates, district attorneys, the clerks of court, public defenders, private attorneys and other stakeholders.

But the Judicial Council, the research arm of the state Supreme Court, has failed to conduct any follow-up analysis to help lawmakers right-size the courts, BGR found.

This year marks the third time since Hurricane Katrina that the Legislature has asked the court to determine the proper amount of district judges, and the court has failed to reach a final conclusion, said BGR, calling it “an unfortunate and troubling pattern.”

Staff writer Alyse Pfeil contributed to this report.

Fair Use Notice

This site occasionally reprints copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We make such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of issues and to highlight the accomplishments of our affiliates. We believe this constitutes a “fair use” of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is available without profit. For more information go to: US CODE: Title 17,107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.