As of the afternoon of March 23, 2020, we have the following updates related to New Orleans-area courts and the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana:

• Orleans Parish Civil District Court, First and Second City Court, and the Clerk of Civil District Court are closed until further notice after COVID-19 exposure.  See https://www.orleanscdc.com/images/Motion%20to%20Close%20the%20Office%203-19-2020.pdf and https://www.orleanscdc.com/images/Motion%20and%20order%20to%20close%20office%203-19-20.pdf

• The Louisiana Supreme Court has also issued another order today (3/23) in response to the Governor’s recent stay-home order for the state. 

• The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana will not accept paper copies of sealed documents in person from now through May 1, 2020.  Instruction on how to file sealed documents can be found here: http://www.laed.uscourts.gov/news/notice-regarding-sealed-pleadings-and-facsimile-filing-paper-documents

• The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana has suspended public access to its courts through May 1, 2020.  Additional information on court filings and correspondence can be found here: https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/news/first-supplemental-order-regarding-court-operations-under-exigent-circumstances-created-covid.  The WDLA has also implemented new measures for arraignments in the Lafayette division, which can be found here: https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/news/second-supplemental-order-regarding-court-operations-under-exigent-circumstances-created-covid