Performance Report- Louisiana Supreme Court

Performance of the City and Parish Courts

Fiscal Year 2015 - 2016

GOAL 1: TO ESTABLISH A MORE OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE SYSTEM OF JUSTICE.

Objective

1.1 To conduct judicial proceedings that are public by law or custom openly.

Intent of the Objective

The intent of this objective is to encourage openness in all appropriate judicial proceedings. The courts should specify proceedings to which the public is denied access and ensure that the restriction is in accordance with the law and not contrary to reasonable public expectations. Further, courts should ensure that proceedings are accessible and audible to all participants, including litigants, attorneys, court personnel, and other persons in the courtroom.

Responses To Objective

Actions taken in FY 2015-2016 to ensure that the public was aware of the openness and accessibility of court proceedings.

(Hover on the chart for more information and click on the chart to see which courts chose that response.)

Actions taken in FY 2015-2016 to ensure that the public was aware of the openness and accessibility of court proceedings.

Additional actions taken by the courts to address this objective

BATON ROUGE CITY COURT	The court conducted tours of the courthouse for students and civic groups, including the Junior Assistant District Attorneys, and provided courtrooms for various activities such as mock trials by local law schools. The court also conducts Law Day activities to help publicize the court's purpose and operations.
CROWLEY CITY COURT	Crowley City Court's 2016-17 schedule was distributed to the Crowley City Hall, Crowley Police Department, Crowley City Marshal's office, Crowley City Police Website, the Acadia Parish Sheriff's office, the 15th JDC District Attorney's office, the 15th JDC Public Defender's office and the local newspaper, The Crowley Post Signal. The court also runs a column in the Crowley Post Signal after every city court and state court date, publishing the proceedings of said court date. The court, in conjunction with the Crowley City Police Department, also runs a "Warrant Watch" weekly publishing, highlighting 6 individuals who have outstanding warrants with the court.
JEANERETTE CITY COURT	The court maintained a digital sign in front of City Hall; all court dates and session times are posted two weeks in advance.
JEFFERSON PARISH 1ST PARISH COURT	The court posted signs on the exterior of the courthouse building prior to court closures. Court closing and re-opening dates were easily accessible via recorded telephone messages along with current fine information, building directions, and hours of operations.
JEFFERSON PARISH 2ND PARISH COURT	Court employees were stationed in the court's main lobby during peak hours to provide information and direction to the public.
JENNINGS CITY COURT	The court installed a large new sign on the outside of the building to help the public locate the court.
KAPLAN CITY COURT	The court informed the Rotary Club about the court schedule and the types of proceedings that take place. The court also taught a class to the Boy Scouts about the Constitution and how it is applied in court.
LAFAYETTE CITY COURT	The court's website is under construction.
NEW ORLEANS 2ND CITY COURT	The judge participated in public forums in which she discussed the jurisdictional limits and other general information concerning the court; she also provided blank forms for small claims.
VIDALIA CITY COURT	The judge continued to speak to business and civic organizations concerning the function and practices of the court.
WINNSBORO CITY COURT	The judge appeared before civic organizations, the city council, and the police jury to discuss the merits of city court and the type of court proceedings held there.

Response	Response_Court
Additional actions taken by the courts to address this objective	11 courts (BATON ROUGE CITY COURT, CROWLEY CITY COURT, JEANERETTE CITY COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 1ST PARISH COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 2ND PARISH COURT, JENNINGS CITY COURT, KAPLAN CITY COURT, LAFAYETTE CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS 2ND CITY COURT, VIDALIA CITY COURT, WINNSBORO CITY COURT)
Continued to address this objective through the actions taken below, or implemented the following new actions to address this objective as indicated below	45 courts (ALEXANDRIA CITY COURT, ASCENSION PARISH COURT, BAKER CITY COURT, BASTROP CITY COURT, BATON ROUGE CITY COURT, BOGALUSA CITY COURT, BOSSIER CITY COURT, BUNKIE CITY COURT, CROWLEY CITY COURT, DENHAM SPRINGS CITY COURT, FRANKLIN CITY COURT, HAMMOND CITY COURT, HOUMA CITY COURT, JEANERETTE CITY COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 1ST PARISH COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 2ND PARISH COURT, JENNINGS CITY COURT, KAPLAN CITY COURT, LAFAYETTE CITY COURT, LAKE CHARLES CITY COURT, LEESVILLE CITY COURT, MARKSVILLE CITY COURT, MINDEN CITY COURT, MONROE CITY COURT, MORGAN CITY COURT, NATCHITOCHES CITY COURT, NEW IBERIA CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS 1ST CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS 2ND CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS MUNICIPAL COURT, NEW ORLEANS TRAFFIC COURT, OAKDALE CITY COURT, OPELOUSAS CITY COURT, PORT ALLEN CITY COURT, RAYNE CITY COURT, SHREVEPORT CITY COURT, SLIDELL CITY COURT, SPRINGHILL CITY COURT, SULPHUR CITY COURT, VIDALIA CITY COURT, VILLE PLATTE CITY COURT, WEST MONROE CITY COURT, WINNFIELD CITY COURT, WINNSBORO CITY COURT, ZACHARY CITY COURT)
Developed or maintained a website which has information on court schedules and accessibility	28 courts (ALEXANDRIA CITY COURT, ASCENSION PARISH COURT, BAKER CITY COURT, BASTROP CITY COURT, BATON ROUGE CITY COURT, BOGALUSA CITY COURT, BOSSIER CITY COURT, CROWLEY CITY COURT, FRANKLIN CITY COURT, HAMMOND CITY COURT, HOUMA CITY COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 1ST PARISH COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 2ND PARISH COURT, JENNINGS CITY COURT, LAKE CHARLES CITY COURT, LEESVILLE CITY COURT, MORGAN CITY COURT, NATCHITOCHES CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS 1ST CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS MUNICIPAL COURT, NEW ORLEANS TRAFFIC COURT, PORT ALLEN CITY COURT, RAYNE CITY COURT, SHREVEPORT CITY COURT, SLIDELL CITY COURT, SULPHUR CITY COURT, WEST MONROE CITY COURT, ZACHARY CITY COURT)
Did not address this objective	7 courts (ABBEVILLE CITY COURT, BREAUX BRIDGE CITY COURT, EUNICE CITY COURT, PINEVILLE CITY COURT, PLAQUEMINE CITY COURT, RUSTON CITY COURT, THIBODAUX CITY COURT)
Posted the court's schedule on the doors or walls of the courtrooms	25 courts (BAKER CITY COURT, BATON ROUGE CITY COURT, CROWLEY CITY COURT, FRANKLIN CITY COURT, HAMMOND CITY COURT, HOUMA CITY COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 1ST PARISH COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 2ND PARISH COURT, JENNINGS CITY COURT, LAFAYETTE CITY COURT, MARKSVILLE CITY COURT, MORGAN CITY COURT, NATCHITOCHES CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS 1ST CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS MUNICIPAL COURT, NEW ORLEANS TRAFFIC COURT, OAKDALE CITY COURT, OPELOUSAS CITY COURT, RAYNE CITY COURT, SHREVEPORT CITY COURT, SLIDELL CITY COURT, WEST MONROE CITY COURT, WINNFIELD CITY COURT, WINNSBORO CITY COURT, ZACHARY CITY COURT)
Provided an information desk in the courthouse	18 courts (BATON ROUGE CITY COURT, BOGALUSA CITY COURT, BUNKIE CITY COURT, DENHAM SPRINGS CITY COURT, FRANKLIN CITY COURT, HAMMOND CITY COURT, HOUMA CITY COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 1ST PARISH COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 2ND PARISH COURT, LEESVILLE CITY COURT, MARKSVILLE CITY COURT, MONROE CITY COURT, NATCHITOCHES CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS 1ST CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS MUNICIPAL COURT, SLIDELL CITY COURT, VILLE PLATTE CITY COURT, WINNSBORO CITY COURT)
Published and distributed court calendars	22 courts (BAKER CITY COURT, BATON ROUGE CITY COURT, CROWLEY CITY COURT, DENHAM SPRINGS CITY COURT, HAMMOND CITY COURT, HOUMA CITY COURT, JEANERETTE CITY COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 1ST PARISH COURT, JEFFERSON PARISH 2ND PARISH COURT, JENNINGS CITY COURT, LAFAYETTE CITY COURT, LAKE CHARLES CITY COURT, MINDEN CITY COURT, MONROE CITY COURT, MORGAN CITY COURT, NEW IBERIA CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS 1ST CITY COURT, OPELOUSAS CITY COURT, RAYNE CITY COURT, SLIDELL CITY COURT, WINNFIELD CITY COURT, ZACHARY CITY COURT)
Used social media	5 courts (BUNKIE CITY COURT, CROWLEY CITY COURT, LAKE CHARLES CITY COURT, MONROE CITY COURT, NEW ORLEANS 2ND CITY COURT)

Performance of the City and Parish Courts

Fiscal Year 2015 - 2016

GOAL 1: TO ESTABLISH A MORE OPEN AND ACCESSIBLE SYSTEM OF JUSTICE.

Objective

Intent of the Objective

Responses To Objective

Actions taken in FY 2015-2016 to ensure that the public was aware of the openness and accessibility of court proceedings.

BATON ROUGE CITY COURT

CROWLEY CITY COURT

JEANERETTE CITY COURT

The court maintained a digital sign in front of City Hall; all court dates and session times are posted two weeks in advance.

JEFFERSON PARISH 1ST PARISH COURT

The court posted signs on the exterior of the courthouse building prior to court closures. Court closing and re-opening dates were easily accessible via recorded telephone messages along with current fine information, building directions, and hours of operations.

JEFFERSON PARISH 2ND PARISH COURT

Court employees were stationed in the court's main lobby during peak hours to provide information and direction to the public.

JENNINGS CITY COURT

The court installed a large new sign on the outside of the building to help the public locate the court.

KAPLAN CITY COURT

The court informed the Rotary Club about the court schedule and the types of proceedings that take place. The court also taught a class to the Boy Scouts about the Constitution and how it is applied in court.

LAFAYETTE CITY COURT

The court's website is under construction.

NEW ORLEANS 2ND CITY COURT

The judge participated in public forums in which she discussed the jurisdictional limits and other general information concerning the court; she also provided blank forms for small claims.

VIDALIA CITY COURT

The judge continued to speak to business and civic organizations concerning the function and practices of the court.

WINNSBORO CITY COURT

The judge appeared before civic organizations, the city council, and the police jury to discuss the merits of city court and the type of court proceedings held there.