Rule 3.1 Divisions or Sections of Court

Some Louisiana district courts split their work into smaller divisions or sections. Judges handle different types of cases or different groups of cases depending on which division or section they are assigned to. This helps the court organize its caseload and decide which judge will handle which matters.

Judges of the court decide together, through what's called an "en banc order," whether to set up these divisions and how they will work. Each court that does this has its own system for assigning judges to a specific division or section. If you want to know how a particular court splits up its cases, you can check Appendix 3.1, which lists the courts that use this system and explains how each one assigns judges.