Ouachita Parish Justice Court, Louisiana

Local Courts Menu

Elections

* Find your sample ballot
* By state and year
* State courts
* Local courts

Judicial selection

* By state
* Assisted appointment
* Gubernatorial appointment
* Legislative election
* Nonpartisan election
* Partisan election

List of courts

Local Courts

Trial courts and judges
Elections by state
Judicial selection by state
View courts by state:

AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingSubmit

* * *

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This page is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.

* * *

The Ouachita Parish Justice Court resides in Louisiana. Click on the links below to learn more about the court's...

* Jurisdiction
* Selection method

## Contents

* 1 Jurisdiction
* 2 Selection method
* 2.1 Judicial elections in Louisiana
* 2.2 Primary election
* 2.2.1 For two or more open seats
* 2.3 General election
* 3 See also
* 4 External links
* 5 Footnotes

## Jurisdiction[edit]

This court holds the following jurisdiction:[1]

“  | Original Jurisdiction.

Justices of the peace have very limited criminal jurisdiction, such as as committing magistrates and for the issuance of peace bonds. They have original civil jurisdiction concurrent with the district courts in cases up to $5,000. However, justices of the peace do not have authority to hear proceedings such as suits involving title to real estate, the right to public office, divorce proceedings, suits against public bodies and executory proceedings. Their concurrent jurisdiction extends to the following proceedings:

* suits for the possession or ownership of movable property not exceeding $5,000;
* suits by landowners or lessors for the eviction of occupants or tenants of leased commercial premises and farmlands where the amount of the monthly rental does not exceed $5,000, regardless of the amount of the rent due or the rent for the unexpired term of the lease; and
* suits by landowners or lessors for the eviction of occupants or tenants of leased residential premises, regardless of the amount of rent due or the rent for the unexpired term of the lease.[2]

| ”

|
|

## Selection method[edit]

See also: Judicial selection in the states

See also: Partisan elections

Judges of the Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts are each elected to six-year terms. The elections for this court are partisan contested elections. To serve on this court, a judge must be a local resident for two years, younger than 70 years old, and have a law degree.[3]

### Judicial elections in Louisiana[edit]

See also: Louisiana judicial elections

Louisiana is one of five states that uses partisan elections to select judges and does not use retention elections for subsequent terms. To read more about how states use judicial elections to select judges across the country, click here.

### Primary election[edit]

Judges compete in a primary election against candidates of all parties. If no candidate receives over 50 percent of the vote (a "majority vote"), the top two candidates run against each other in the general election. If a candidate does receive a majority vote in the primary, he or she is declared elected as an unopposed candidate and will not be listed on the general election ballot.[4]

In even-numbered years, Louisiana's primary elections are held in November during the general elections of other states.

#### For two or more open seats[edit]

In the event that candidates are competing for more than one open seat on a court, the majority vote is decided by "dividing the total votes cast for all of the candidates by the number of offices to be filled [and] dividing the result so obtained by two," according to the Secretary of State website. The SOS goes on to give the following example:

1,040 total votes cast ÷ 3 offices to be filled ＝ 346.6
346.6 ÷ 2 ＝ 173.3

In the above example, 174 votes are necessary to win for each of the 3 offices.[4]

### General election[edit]

A general election is won by obtaining the highest number of votes. In the case of races with two or more open seats, the two or more candidates with the highest votes are declared the winners. If there is a tie, an additional election will be scheduled for the third Saturday after the announcement of the election results.[4]

## See also[edit]

Local Courts

* Trial courts and judges
* Local court elections
* Ballotpedia's coverage scope

Other Louisiana Courts

* Louisiana federal courts
* Courts in Louisiana
* Judicial selection in Louisiana
* Judicial selection in the states

Elections

* Who is on my ballot?
* U.S. Congress
* State executives
* State legislatures
* State courts
* Ballot measures
* Local offices

## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic
* Louisiana courts

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Louisiana State Bar Association, "Justices of the Peace," accessed May 15, 2023
2. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
3. ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Louisiana; Limited Jurisdiction Courts," archived October 2, 2014
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Louisiana Secretary of State, "How are Candidates Elected?" accessed May 1, 2014

Louisiana courts

* * *

Federal courts:

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, Western District of Louisiana

State courts:

Louisiana Supreme Court • Louisiana Courts of Appeal • Louisiana District Courts • Louisiana City Courts • Louisiana Family Courts • Louisiana Justice of the Peace Courts • Louisiana Juvenile Courts • Louisiana Mayor’s Courts • Louisiana Municipal Courts • Louisiana Parish Courts • Louisiana Traffic Courts

State resources:

Courts in Louisiana • Louisiana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Louisiana

v • e

State of Louisiana
Baton Rouge (capital)

|

Elections |

What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures

Government |

Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy