(a) Previous rules of court adopted by individual judicial districts often included various rules dealing with judges, such as selection of a chief judge; courts sitting en banc; duties and powers of judges; duty judges; random allotment; recusal, transfer, and consolidation; accessibility; and judicial accounts. Many of those rules duplicated articles of the Louisiana Constitution, applicable Revised Statutes, or Supreme Court of Louisiana decisions. Furthermore, many of those rules dealt with the internal administration of the court rather than with the interaction of counsel and litigants with the judicial process. No provisions restating existing law have been included in these Rules. The citations to authority for the deleted topics are as follows:
(1) The Court En Banc – La. R.S. 13:472; La. R.S. 13:474; La. R.S. 13:991- 999; La. R.S. 13:1221; La. R.S. 13:1312; La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 193.
(2) Chief Judge – La. Const. art. 5, § 17.
(3) Duties and Powers of Judges – La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 191; La. R.S. 13:501.
(4) Random Allotment – State v. Sprint Communications Co., L.P., 96- 3094 (La. 9/9/97); 699 So.2d 1058; La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 253.1.
(5) Recusal – La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 151-158, 161.
(6) Transfer of Actions – Sprint, supra; La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 253.2.
(7) Consolidation of Actions – La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 1561.
(8) Cumulation of Actions – La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 461, et seq.
(b) The constitutional implications of the decision in Sprint, supra, regarding random allotment of cases affect a court’s ability to appoint duty judges and, more importantly, the designation of duties to such judges. Act 24, '1 of the 1st Extraordinary Session of the 2000 Legislature enacted La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 253.3, effective June 6, 2000, which clarifies the matters that a duty judge may hear. The Louisiana Constitution and Code of Criminal Procedure govern the appointment of duty judges in criminal proceedings.
(c) Previous rules adopted by individual courts often included various provisions regarding quasi-judicial officers. Many of those rules duplicated applicable revised statutes or code articles.
No provisions restating existing law have been included in these Rules. The citations to authority for the deleted topics are as follows:
(1) Judges Ad Hoc – La. Const. art. 5, §§ 5(A), 22(B); La. Code Civ. Proc. arts. 157, 158, and 161.
(2) Magistrate Commissioners – La. R.S. 13:713.
(3) The clerk of court acting as justice of the peace – La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 284.
(4) Court-Appointed Special Masters – La. R.S. 13:4165.
(d) See La. R.S. 13:501 regarding sessions of court.
(e) The constitutional implications of the decision in State v. Sprint Communications Co., L.P., 96-3094 (La. 9/9/97); 699 So.2d 1058, regarding random allotment of cases, affect a court’s ability to appoint duty judges and, more importantly, the designation of duties to such judges. Act 24 of the 1st Extraordinary Session of the 2000 Legislature enacted La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 253.3 to clarify the matters that may be heard by a duty judge.
