§ 13:589 — Fourteenth Judicial District Court; magistrate judge

Louisiana § 13:589

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 13: Courts and Judicial Procedure

Text

§589. Fourteenth Judicial District Court; magistrate judge
A. The office of magistrate judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District Court is hereby
created and shall be an elected position. The magistrate judge shall be elected at large from
the Fourteenth Judicial District. The initial election shall occur in the fall of 2020 and the
elected term shall begin January 1, 2021. The magistrate judge shall serve a six-year term.
The position is a full-time position, and the magistrate judge is prohibited from practicing
law.
B. The magistrate judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District Court shall possess the
same qualifications required of the district court judges, as outlined in Article V, Section 24
of the Constitution of Louisiana.
C. The salary of the magistrate judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District Court shall
be ninety percent of the salary paid to judges of the Fourteenth Judicial District Court per
annum, and the salary and related benefits as provided by law shall be payable in the same
manner from the same sources as the salary and benefits of a judge of the Fourteenth Judicial
District Court. The support services and personnel, including minute clerks and
stenographers, as shall be necessary for the offices of the magistrate judge shall be paid from
the same source as the same positions in the Fourteenth Judicial District Court.
D. The magistrate judge of the Fourteenth Judicial District Court created in this
Section shall hold court in the same building as is provided for the other judges of the court.
With the approval of the judges of the Fourteenth Judicial District Court, the magistrate
judge may hear and preside over all criminal matters, except the adjudication of felony
charges, including but not limited to preliminary motions; conduct extradition hearings;
accept pleas in misdemeanor cases; hear and render judgments in other matters, including
misdemeanor cases, preliminary to the trial on the merits; conduct trials of misdemeanor
cases; have authority to set bail; and sign and issue search and arrest warrants upon probable
cause being shown in accordance with law.

Legislative History

Acts 2019, No. 211, §1; Acts 2020, No. 126, §1, eff. June 9, 2020; Acts 2023, No. 51, §1.