Louisiana Supreme Court history

The French abolished the Cabildo but had not set up a new judicial system when, in 1803, the territory became part the United States.

The Superior Court, a circuit court, was vested with original jurisdiction in all criminal cases, exclusive jurisdiction in capital cases, and original and appellate jurisdiction in civil cases involving $100 or more. It held its first session in November, 1804.

In 1807, the new popularly elected legislature abolished the counties and county courts and created a separate court in each of the nineteen parishes.

The Constitution of 1812 created a state judiciary that represented the reconciliation of civil and common law traditions.

The Supreme Court heard its first case on March 11, 1813, an appeal from the territorial Superior Court.

According to Fortier’s History of Louisiana, in December 1814, Major General Andrew Jackson allegedly threatened to “blow up” the Louisiana legislature in Government House after rumors circulated that the legislature might surrender to the British.

Cottin in 1817 established that the civil laws of Spain formed the basis for Louisiana’s common law.

The Louisiana Supreme Court was first housed at Government House in New Orleans until approximately the 1820s.

Having survived the Battle of New Orleans, in February 1828, Government House burned down after a fire broke out in a small dry goods store located next door.

The Supreme Court was to be composed of not less than three and not more than five judges (the term "justices" was not introduced until the Constitution of 1845) appointed by the Governor to serve during good behavior.

The need for a new fireproof building to house the Louisiana Supreme Court and city and state offices had been recognized as early as 1851.

The Constitution of 1852 added another associate justice, thus expanding the court to five, with staggered terms often years.

The Presbytère was sold to the City of New Orleans in 1854.

The Legislature of 1855 created “a public library of the State of Louisiana, which shall be placed in the State House” and specified that “a competent person” be appointed librarian to care for what was apparently an existing collection of books.

On February 24, 1862, the Supreme Court met in New Orleans and passed an order stating that its justices and the district judges of Orleans Parish should adjourn to facilitate the mobilization of the militia, which had been ordered by the Legislature.

All judicial offices, except the office of justice of peace, were made appointive by the 1864 Constitution.

On the first Monday in November, 1868, the court sat for the first time at the Cabildo in New Orleans.

The end of Reconstruction resulted in the 1879 Constitution, the first of Louisiana's long constitutions; the judiciary article alone contains sixty-eight sections.

In an 1885 Guide to New Orleans, Government House was described as “a plain residence of one story, with the aspect of an inn.

In 1900 the court by order closed the series of reports called the Louisiana Annual and directed that the title Louisiana Reports be used thereafter.

The people of Louisiana regained the right to elect Supreme Court justices with the adoption of a constitutional amendment in 1904.

The Louisiana Supreme Court’s first session in the “New Courts Building” occurred on October 3, 1910.

The centennial of the Supreme Court was celebrated with a festive ceremony and speeches on March 1, 1913.

Responding to court delays produced by a dramatic increase in appeals, delegates to Louisiana’s Constitutional Convention of 1921 increased the size of the Supreme Court to seven justices.

At the end of 1922 Charles A. O’Niell attained the office of Chief Justice, a post which he held for a record term of 27 years.

In 1958 the new, modern Supreme Court Building at 301 Loyola Avenue opened for business.

Passage of a constitutional amendment brought the Judiciary Commission, composed of judges, attorneys, and citizens, into existence in 1968 to review allegations of judicial misconduct and recommend action to the court.

The idea took hold, and the Supreme Court of Louisiana Historical Society was founded in 1992 to support the return of the Court to its former home.

On October 2, 2004, a new chapter in Louisiana’s legal history opened with the dedication of the restored courthouse in the New Orleans French Quarter, the new home of the Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal.

In 2009 Justice Kimball was elevated to Chief Justice, making her the first female Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.

After Chief Justice Kimball retired from the judiciary, Justice Johnson was sworn in as the Court’s first African American Chief Justice on February 1, 2013.