Louisiana Supreme Court

Louisiana Supreme Court
Seal of the Louisiana Supreme Court
Established	1813
Country	Louisiana , United States
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
Authorized by	Louisiana Constitution
Decisions are appealed to	Supreme Court of the United States
Website	Official website
Chief Justice
Currently	Bernette Joshua Johnson
Since	February 1, 2013

The Supreme Court of Louisiana is the highest court and court of last resort in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The modern Supreme Court, composed of seven justices, meets in the French Quarter of New Orleans.

The Supreme Court, and Louisiana state law, are historically based in the colonial governments of France and Spain during the 18th century. The current Supreme Court traces its roots back to these beginnings.

Under the colonial governments of France and Spain, the courts of Louisiana existed in several different forms. In 1712, a charter granted by France created a Superior Council with executive and judicial function which functioned as a court of last resort in both civil and criminal cases. In 1769, Spain gained control over the Louisiana territory, and the Superior Council was replaced with the Cabildo. The Governor of the territory held the power of having final authority in cases.

In 1803, Louisiana became a territory of the United States. In 1804, Congress created a three judge Superior Court for the territory and gave the Legislative Council the power to create other courts. In 1807, the newly elected Legislative Council created courts in each of the territory's nineteen parishes. These courts were courts of general jurisdiction with an appeal lying to the Superior Court.

In the first Constitution for the state of Louisiana, one Supreme Court was created and the Legislature was given the power to create inferior courts. The number of judges was fixed to be not less than three and not more than five who were to be appointed by the Governor. The Court was required to sit in New Orleans and Opelousas.

The 1845 Constitution created a Supreme Court composed of one Chief Justice and three Associate Justices appointed by the Governor to eight-year terms. The Court sat in New Orleans.

The 1852 Constitution increased the number of Justices on the Court to five, and all became elected by the people. The Chief Justice was elected at-large by the entire state and the Associate Justices were elected from four districts throughout the state. The Justices served ten-year terms.

In 1864, the Justices again became appointed, and their term length was decreased to eight years.

The 1868 Constitution did not change the makeup or terms of the Supreme Court, however, it did change and expand its jurisdiction in civil cases to include nearly all types of cases.

The post-Reconstruction Constitution of 1879 substantially modified the organization of the Louisiana judiciary. The Constitution created the Supreme Court, Courts of Appeal, District Courts and Justices of the Peace. The Supreme Court retained five justices, but they were now appointed by the Governor and served twelve-year terms. For the first time, the Supreme Court was given supervisory power over the inferior courts.