The United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (in case citations, W.D. La.) is a United States federal court with jurisdiction over approximately two thirds of the state of Louisiana, with courts in Alexandria, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Monroe, and Shreveport. These cities comprise the Western District of Louisiana.
Appeals from the Western District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
Jurisdiction The parishes that fall under the jurisdiction of this district court are:
Acadia Parish Allen Parish Avoyelles Parish Beauregard Parish Bienville Parish Bossier Parish Caddo Parish
Calcasieu Parish Caldwell Parish Cameron Parish Catahoula Parish Claiborne Parish Concordia Parish DeSoto Parish
East Carroll Parish Evangeline Parish Franklin Parish Grant Parish Iberia Parish Jackson Parish Jefferson Davis Parish
Lafayette Parish LaSalle Parish Lincoln Parish Madison Parish Morehouse Parish Natchitoches Parish Ouachita Parish
Rapides Parish Red River Parish Richland Parish Sabine Parish Saint Landry Parish Saint Martin Parish Saint Mary Parish
Tensas Parish Union Parish Vermilion Parish Vernon Parish Webster Parish West Carroll Parish Winn Parish
History On March 26, 1804, Congress organized the Territory of Orleans and created the United States District Court for the District of Orleans – the only time Congress provided a territory with a district court equal in its authority and jurisdiction to those of the states.U.S. District Courts of Louisiana, Legislative history, Federal Judicial Center. The United States District Court for the District of Louisiana was established on April 8, 1812, by ,Asbury Dickens, A Synoptical Index to the Laws and Treaties of the United States of America (1852), p. 392. several weeks before Louisiana was formally admitted as a state of the union. The District was thereafter subdivided and reformed several times. It was first subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1823, by .
On February 13, 1845, Louisiana was reorganized into a single District with one judgeship, by , but was again divided into Eastern and the Western Districts on March 3, 1849, by . Congress again abolished the Western District of Louisiana and reorganized Louisiana as a single judicial district on July 27, 1866, by . On March 3, 1881, by , Louisiana was for a third time divided into Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each. The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on December 18, 1971, by .
Current judges :
Former judges
Chief judges
Succession of seats
U.S. attorneys The complete list of United States attorneys in Louisiana, including those who served during territorial status:
James Brown (1805–1808) Philip Grymes (1808–1810) Tully Robinson (1810–1811) John Randolph Grymes (1811–1814) Tully Robinson (2) (1814) John Dick (1814–1821) John W. Smith (1821–1823) John Brownson (1823–1830) Benjamin F. Linton (1830–1841) Henderson Taylor (1841–1842) Caleb L. Swayze (1842–1849) Henry Boyce (1849–1850) Lawrence P. Crain (1850–1853) Joseph H. Kilpatrick (1853–1854) Peter Alexander (1854–1856) Claiborne C. Briscoe (1856) Floyd Walton (1856–1860) Leon D. Marks (1860) James R. Beckwith (1870) H. B. Talliaferro (1881) Milton C. Elstner (1881–1885) Montfort S. Jones (1885–1889) Milton C. Elstner (2) (1889–1893) Charles W. Seals (1893–1898) Milton C. Elstner (3) (1898–1910) Edward H. Randolph (1910–1913) George W. Jack (1913–1917) Robert A. Hunter (1917) Joseph Moore (1917–1921) Yandell Boatner (1921) Hugh C. Fisher (1921–1922) Philip H. Mecom (1922–1935) Benjamin F. Roberts (1935–1937) Harvey Fields (1937–1941) Malcolm Lafargue (1941–1950) Joseph J. Fleniken (1950) Harvey Locke Carey (1950) William J. Fleniken (1950–1953) Thomas Wilson (1953–1962) Edward L. Shaheen (1962–1969) Donald Ellsworth Walter (1969–1977) Edward L. Shaheen (2) (1977–1979) J. Ransdell Keene (1979–1981) Joseph S. Cage Jr. (1981–1993) Michael D. Skinner (1993–2000) William J. Flanagan (2000–2001) Donald W. Washington (2001–2010) William J. Flanagan (2) (2010) Stephanie A. Finley (2010–2017) Alexander Van Hook (2017–2018) David C. Joseph (2018–2020) Alexander Van Hook (2020–2021) Brandon B. Brown (2021–2025) Alexander Van Hook (acting) (2025) Zachary Keller (2025-)
See also Courts of Louisiana List of current United States district judges List of United States federal courthouses in Louisiana United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
References
External links Official Website of the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana United States Attorney's Office, Western District of Louisiana