La. R. Sup. Ct. 5

As amended through October 31, 2024

Rule 5 - Appointment of Pro Tempore and Ad Hoc Judges to City, Municipal, Traffic, Parish, Juvenile or Family Courts

(a) The appointment of judges pro tempore to city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile or family courts shall be made only for the emergency or necessary temporary absence of the elected judge or for vacation as provided by law or by such local rules governing vacations as are approved by this court.

(b) Whenever it is necessary for a judge of a city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile or family court to be absent temporarily from his duties, the judge shall make a diligent effort to secure the services of a retired or sitting judge as a temporary replacement. If no retired or sitting judge is available to serve, the judge may appoint an attorney from a list of qualified attorneys which has been compiled and approved by the judges of his court and has been provided to and approved for such appointments by the supreme court under the procedure specified hereinafter.

(c) Every city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile or family court, which intends to avail itself of the authority provided in paragraph (b) of this Section for the appointment of attorneys as judges pro tempore, shall submit to the judicial administrator a list of attorneys that the court desires to be approved by the supreme court for appointment as temporary judges. The attorneys included on the list must, in the opinion of the submitting court, be qualified for appointment as temporary judges of the court. The judges of the appointing court may also require or provide for judicial training of the appointee under the direction of the court. The list may be supplemented from time to time as is necessary. The list and supplemental list shall include a qualification form (Attachment A) completed by each attorney on the list.

The approval of any attorney shall expire on December 31 of the third full calendar year following the supreme court's approval of the attorney for temporary appointments. Previously approved attorneys may be reapproved for temporary judicial appointments. In the even a court wishes to have an attorney reapproved, the court requesting approval of an attorney shall submit an updated qualification form for approval by the supreme court. Added effective August 15, 1999

(d) An attorney who accepts an appointment as provided in paragraph (b) of this Section shall agree in writing (Attachment B) that:

(i) the attorney will not qualify as a candidate for election to any judicial office for a period of one year immediately following the termination of the appointment, and

(ii) the attorney will not use the title of judge or use any photograph in a judicial robe in any campaign for any elective office, or use any other advertising that may mislead the public into believing that the attorney is or has been elected to a judicial office.

(e) The request for appointment (the "Request") shall contain in detail the; specific reason that the appointment is necessary, a statement that the appointing judge has complied with the requirements of paragraph (b) of this Section relating to priority of appointment, and, if an attorney is appointed, a copy of Attachment S executed by the attorney, and shall be sent to the judicial administrator of the supreme court. The Request shall be presented for approval by the supreme court and it shall be received in the supreme court at least three judicial days prior to the date upon which the appointee is to serve (except in cases of a bona fide emergency). The supreme court shall issue an order following approval of the Request. The, supreme court''s order of appointment shall be entered into the minutes of the court.

(f) Attorney appointees shall not perform marriages.

(g) No person holding elective or appointive office or employment in state or local government shall be eligible for appointment as a judge ad hoc or pro tempore under this Section. Attorneys for local governing authorities and announced candidates for public office shall also be ineligible for appointment as a judge ad hoc or pro tempore under this Section. This paragraph shall not be applicable to sitting or retired judges.

(h) This Section shall be considered an Administrative Responsibility under Section B of Canon 3 of the Code of Judicial Conduct.

(i) Recusal Appointments or Assignments.

In any case in which a city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile, or family court judge is recused, or in any case in which a written motion to recuse is filed the judge shall forward the appropriate pleadings to this Court, requesting that a sitting or retired judge, or an approved attorney, be appointed or assigned to hear the matter. If the reason for the motion to recuse, or the judge's actual recusal, is not clear from the pleadings, the judge shall also convey the reasons for the motion or the recusal. The recusal pleadings and the request for appointment/assignment shall be received in the Supreme Court at least seven judicial days prior to the date upon which the case or motion is to be heard.

The Supreme Court shall assign a sitting or retired judge to try all motions to recuse. In addition, the Supreme Court may appoint or assign a sitting or retired judge or a qualified attorney, from the list of approved attorneys compiled in accordance with Subsection (b) above, to preside over any case in which a city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile or family court judge recuses himself or herself.

Whenever a city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile or family court judge is recused after a trial of the motion to recuse, the sitting or retired judge previously assigned to try the motion to recuse shall continue to act as judge ad hoc for the trial of the case.

This subsection does not prohibit random reallotment procedures which are, or have been, instituted by local court rule which serve to reallot cases involving voluntary or involuntary recusation among the judges in any city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile or family court.

(j) Cap on Temporary Appointments.

There shall be a thirty-seven (37) day cap on the number of days that this Section may be utilized by any judge of a city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile or family court for the appointment of temporary judges in any year. No city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile or family court judge shall appoint temporary judges, and no such appointments may be approved by this Court, for more than thirty-seven (37) days per year.

Exceptions to the 37-day cap may be granted by the Supreme Court of Louisiana for extraordinary circumstances, such as serious illness.

The 37-day cap shall not apply to recusal appointments or assignments made in accordance with subsection (i).

[Enacted effective January 1, 2013; amended December 21, 2012, effective January 1, 2013]

The attached Qualification Form for Appointment as Judge Ad Hoc or Pro Tempore is hereby adopted for use by attorneys who wish to become qualified for pro tempore and ad hoc appointments in a particular city, municipal, traffic, parish, juvenile or family court. This form, which has been designated as Attachment "A" in Section 5 of this Court's General Administrative Rules, shall replace the prior Attorney Qualification Form.

ATTACHMENT A

QUALIFICATION FORM FOR APPOINTMENT AS JUDGE AD HOC OR PRO TEMPORE

FULL NAME:

______________________________________________________

HOME AND BUSINESS ADDRESS OF ATTORNEY:

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

HOME AND BUSINESS TELEPHONE NUMBERS:

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

BAR ADMISSION (YEAR): ___________

PRESENT AGE: ______________

NATURE OF ACTIVE LAW PRACTICE:

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

PRIOR JUDICIAL SERVICE :

(DATES, PLACES, LENGTH)

_________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

SPECIFIC EXPERIENCE
WHICH QUALIFIES
APPLICANT FOR	___________________________________________COURT:
APPOINTMENT IN	(NAME OF COURT TO WHICH APPLICANT WISHES
	TO BE APPROVED FOR APPOINTMENT)

ADVERSE COMPLAINTS FILED WITH STATE BAR:

(DATE, NATURE, DISPOSITION)

_________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

PERSONAL REFERENCES:

(NAMES, ADDRESSES, TELEPHONE NOS.)

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

I attest that the foregoing information is correct, to the best of my knowledge and belief. I also attest that I am not prohibited from serving as judge ad hoc or pro tempore by Section 5(g) of the Louisiana Supreme Court's General Administrative Rules, which provides:

No person holding elective or appointive office or employment in state or local government shall be eligible for appointment as a judge ad hoc or pro tempore under this Section. Attorneys for local governing authorities and announced candidates for public office shall also be ineligible for appointment as a judge ad hoc or pro tempore under this Section.

_____________________	_______________________________________
(Date)	(Signature of Attorney)

The approval of any attorney by the Louisiana Supreme Court for temporary appointments shall expire on December 31 of the third full calendar year following the Louisiana Supreme Court's approval of the attorney for temporary appointments. Previously approved attorneys may be reapproved for judicial appointments, provided a new qualification form is submitted by any court who wishes to have an attorney or attorneys reapproved.

ATTACHMENT B.

ATTORNEY AGREEMENT FOR TEMPORARY OR AD HOC JUDICIAL APPOINTMENT

I, _________________, do hereby certify that, as a condition of my appointment to serve as a judge of the ___________________________ ______________________________________ (Name of Court)

I do now hereby express to the Chief Justice and the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of Louisiana that I will not qualify as a candidate for election to any judicial office for a period of one year immediately following the termination of the appointment, and I will not use the title of judge or use any photograph in a judicial robe in any campaign for any elective office, or use any other advertising that may mislead the public into believing that I am or have been elected to a judicial office.

_________________________

(Date)

_______________________________________

(signature)

La. R. Sup. Ct. 5

Enacted effective 1/1/2013; amended December 21, 2012, effective 1/1/2013; amended May 28, 2020, effective 5/28/2020.