| Court Type: | district |
| Court Name: | United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana |
| Abbreviation: | E.D. La. |
| Seal Size: | 150 |
| Map Image Name: | United_States_District_Court_for_the_Eastern_District_of_Louisiana.svg |
| Map Image Width: | 150 |
| Location: | New Orleans |
| Location1: | Houma |
| Appeals To: | Fifth Circuit |
| Established: | March 3, 1881 |
| Judges Assigned: | 12 |
| Chief: | Nannette Jolivette Brown |
| Us Attorney: | Duane A. Evans |
| Us Marshal: | Enix Smith III |
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana (in case citations, E.D. La.) is a United States federal court based in New Orleans.
Appeals from the Eastern District of Louisiana are taken to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).
, the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana is Duane A. Evans.[1] [2]
This district comprises the following parishes: Assumption, Jefferson, Lafourche, Orleans, Plaquemines, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist, St. Tammany, Tangipahoa, Terrebonne, and Washington.
On March 26, 1804, Congress organized the Territory of Orleans and created the United States District Court for the District of Orleans—the only time Congress provided a territory with a district court equal in its authority and jurisdiction to those of the states.[3] The United States District Court for the District of Louisiana was established on April 8, 1812, by,[3] [4] several weeks before Louisiana was formally admitted as a state of the union. The District was thereafter subdivided and reformed several times. It was first subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1823, by .[3] [4]
On February 13, 1845, Louisiana was reorganized into a single District with one judgeship, by,[3] but was again divided into Eastern and the Western Districts on March 3, 1849, by .[3] Congress again abolished the Western District of Louisiana and reorganized Louisiana as a single judicial district on July 27, 1866, by .[3] On March 3, 1881, by, Louisiana was for a third time divided into Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each.[3] The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on December 18, 1971, by .[3]
After the United States District Court for the Canal Zone was abolished on March 31, 1982, all pending litigation was transferred to the Eastern District of Louisiana.
| Seat | Prior judge's duty station | Seat last held by | Vacancy reason | Date of vacancy | Nominee | Date of nomination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | New Orleans | Eldon E. Fallon | Senior status | January 1, 2024 | ||
| 5 | Sarah S. Vance | January 16, 2024 |
The U.S. Attorney is the chief law-enforcement officer for the district.[5]