Orleans Parish Juvenile Court

421 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112

504-658-9500

Kinds of Cases Handled by Juvenile Court

The Orleans Parish Juvenile Court serves the people of Orleans Parish through its handling of all juvenile matters, specifically: delinquency cases, juvenile status offenses, Child in Need of Care proceedings, child support claims, adoptions, voluntary transfers of custody, termination of parental rights, and juvenile traffic tickets.

Court Operations

The Judicial Administrator and support staff handle the daily administrative operations of the court.

The Clerk of Court and staff of that office are responsible for preparing dockets, subpoenas and other legal documents for the court.

The Clerk of Court is also the legal custodian of juvenile court records and is responsible for maintaining all records brought before the court.

Law applied in Juvenile Court

In Court, the Juvenile Judges apply the protections of the United States and Louisiana Constitutions, as well as the decisions of the United States Supreme Court, the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the Louisiana Courts of Appeal, interpreting and applying the laws of this state.

Rules for Louisiana District Courts

Specialized Divisions of the Court

The Orleans Parish Juvenile Court is a specialized court. This means that the six judges serve in two divisions: the Delinquency Division, which has four judges, and the Child Protection Division, which has two judges.

This specialization allows the judges to focus on one of the two main kinds of cases handled by the Court. The divisions make for a more efficient court system and allow the judge to take more time to meet the needs of the child and family in each case.

Child In Need of Care Division

In Child in Need of Care cases (those regarding the abandonment, neglect, or abuse of children) the Court's function is to decide whether or not an accused individual harmed a child in anyway or has properly cared for a child as required by law.

Delinquency Division

In juvenile court, criminal matters are called delinquency cases. In delinquency cases the main function of the Court is to decide, based on the evidence presented, whether or not a young person accused of a crime has broken the law.

What Judge will hear my case?

Cases are randomly allotted by a computer system within the two divisions of the court. This means that neither the District Attorney nor defense counsel can effect which judge receives a particular case. This protects the youth and the public to insure that all cases are handled in an equal and fair manner.

Further Information about the Court

For further information about the Child In Need of Care and Delinquency Divisions of the Court, please go to the main menu and click on the button for those Divisions.