Eusea v. St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office

E.D. Louisiana

Eusea v. St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office

DecidedSeptember 16, 2025

Docket2:23-cv-06643

StatusUnknown

This text of Eusea v. St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office (Eusea v. St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

Eusea v. St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office, (E.D. La. 2025).

Pincite

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

ERNEST EUSEA * CIVIL ACTION NO. 23-6643 * VERSUS * SECTION: “A”(4) * ST. CHARLES PARISH SHERIFF’S * JUDGE JAY C. ZAINEY OFFICE ET AL. * * MAGISTRATE JUDGE KAREN WELLS * ROBY *

ORDER AND REASONS

Ernest Eusea brought this suit pro se against the Sheriff’s Office and the 29th Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Charles. He alleges that the Sheriff’s Office pulled him over for speeding and arrested and cited him for operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license. This citation was ultimately adjudicated in the 29th Judicial District Court. Eusea asserts that the Sheriff’s Office and the 29th Judicial District Court each violated his rights and were unauthorized to exercise jurisdiction over him. Louisiana does not recognize Sheriff’s Offices or Judicial District Courts as entities capable of being sued. The Louisiana Supreme Court has made it clear that “[i]t is well settled ... that a Sheriff’s Department is not a legal entity capable of being sued.” Valentine v. Bonneville Ins. Co., 691 So. 2d 665, 668 (La. 3/17/97). Under Louisiana law, an entity must qualify as a “juridical person” to possess the capacity to be sued. Griffith v. Louisiana, 808 F.Supp.2d 926, 933 (E.D. La. 2011) (Berrigan, J.) (noting Dugas v. City of Breaux Bridge Police Dep't, 757 So. 2d 741, 743 (La. App. 3 Cir. 2000)). A juridical person is “an entity to which the law attributes personality.” LA. CIV. CODE. ANN. art. 24. Louisiana's state courts are created by the Louisiana Constitution as component parts of a unified state system for the exercise of the state's judicial power. Id. at *5 (citing LA. CONST., art. 5 $§ 1, 16). Thus, the 29th Judicial District Court is not a separate entity, but rather a part of the state government’s judicial branch. /d. Further, no law, constitutional, statutory, or otherwise, confers upon the 29th Judicial District Court the authority to sue or be sued. See Griffith, 808 F.Supp.2d at 934 (citations omitted). Accordingly; IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s claims against the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office and the 29th Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Charles are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. September 15, 2025 Cc ( de C. A UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA

ERNEST EUSEA * CIVIL ACTION NO. 23-6643 * VERSUS * SECTION: “A”(4) * ST. CHARLES PARISH SHERIFF’S * JUDGE JAY C. ZAINEY OFFICE ET AL. * * MAGISTRATE JUDGE KAREN WELLS * ROBY *

ORDER AND REASONS

Ernest Eusea brought this suit pro se against the Sheriff’s Office and the 29th Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Charles. He alleges that the Sheriff’s Office pulled him over for speeding and arrested and cited him for operating a motor vehicle without a driver’s license. This citation was ultimately adjudicated in the 29th Judicial District Court. Eusea asserts that the Sheriff’s Office and the 29th Judicial District Court each violated his rights and were unauthorized to exercise jurisdiction over him. Louisiana does not recognize Sheriff’s Offices or Judicial District Courts as entities capable of being sued. The Louisiana Supreme Court has made it clear that “[i]t is well settled ... that a Sheriff’s Department is not a legal entity capable of being sued.” Valentine v. Bonneville Ins. Co., 691 So. 2d 665, 668 (La. 3/17/97). Under Louisiana law, an entity must qualify as a “juridical person” to possess the capacity to be sued. Griffith v. Louisiana, 808 F.Supp.2d 926, 933 (E.D. La. 2011) (Berrigan, J.) (noting Dugas v. City of Breaux Bridge Police Dep't, 757 So. 2d 741, 743 (La. App. 3 Cir. 2000)). A juridical person is “an entity to which the law attributes personality.” LA. CIV. CODE. ANN. art. 24. Louisiana's state courts are created by the Louisiana Constitution as component parts of a unified state system for the exercise of the state's judicial power. Id. at *5 (citing LA. CONST., art. 5 $§ 1, 16). Thus, the 29th Judicial District Court is not a separate entity, but rather a part of the state government’s judicial branch. /d. Further, no law, constitutional, statutory, or otherwise, confers upon the 29th Judicial District Court the authority to sue or be sued. See Griffith, 808 F.Supp.2d at 934 (citations omitted). Accordingly; IT IS ORDERED that Plaintiff’s claims against the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office and the 29th Judicial District Court for the Parish of St. Charles are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. September 15, 2025 Cc ( de C. A UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)

Eusea v. St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Office, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/eusea-v-st-charles-parish-sheriffs-office-laed-2025.

Opinion

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack