Pointe Coupee Parish District Court Overview
Pointe Coupee Parish is part of the 18th Judicial District Court, which also serves Iberville and West Baton Rouge Parishes. The 18th JDC homepage states that the court has original jurisdiction over all civil and criminal matters in those parishes. Louisiana's court structure places the Supreme Court at the top, followed by five courts of appeal, district courts as primary trial courts, and lower or specialized courts such as city, parish, juvenile or family, and Justice of the Peace courts.
For Pointe Coupee Parish, District Court is the main trial court for felony cases, ordinary civil district court cases, divorces, probate and succession matters, adoptions, and other family matters. The Clerk of Court keeps the related civil and criminal record files. Appeals from Pointe Coupee Parish District Court move to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal under the researched appellate structure.
The Louisiana Constitution Article V, Section 16 is the core jurisdiction source for district courts.
The constitutional source explains why Pointe Coupee Parish District Court has original and exclusive jurisdiction over several major case types.
Pointe Coupee Parish District Court Divisions
The 18th Judicial District Court has four elected divisions, A through D. Division A is the Pointe Coupee courthouse division, and the DA page assigns Pointe Coupee criminal matters to Division A. The court's judge page is the controlling source for current judge and division names because the research found a stale conflict on a DA page. The table follows the court's own judge page.
| Division | Judge | Address | Phone | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Judge J. Kevin Kimball | P.O. Box 536, 201 East Main St., New Roads, LA 70760 | 225-638-5532 | Pointe Coupee courthouse division. |
| B | Chief Judge Tonya S. Lurry | P.O. Box 724, 850 8th St., Port Allen, LA 70767 | 225-336-2419 | Also listed as Language Access Coordinator. |
| C | Judge Pro Tempore Melvin C. Zeno | P.O. Box 241, 58050 Meriam St., Suite 313, Plaquemine, LA 70764 | 225-687-5230 | Current court judge page controls. |
| D | Judge Elizabeth A. Engolio | P.O. Box 758, 58050 Meriam St., Suite 311, Plaquemine, LA 70764 | 225-687-5220 | Listed by the 18th JDC as Division D. |
District Court vs Lower Courts
Pointe Coupee Parish does not have a county court in the way some states do. The practical local comparison is District Court versus Justice of the Peace Court, plus municipal or mayor's court where applicable. City Court can matter elsewhere in Louisiana, but the research points to JP districts as the local lower-court structure for Pointe Coupee. The distinction is especially important for divorce, succession, title to real estate, evictions, small claims, and limited criminal matters.
| Issue | District Court | Justice of the Peace Court | Municipal or Mayor's Court |
|---|---|---|---|
| Civil scope | General civil jurisdiction, plus title-to-immovable-property matters. | Civil disputes up to $5,000. | Local ordinance or municipal matters where applicable. |
| Criminal scope | Felonies and broader criminal matters through the 18th JDC. | Certain criminal matters and ordinance violations. | Local violations where a municipal court exists. |
| Family and divorce | Divorce, family, adoption, and related civil files through Clerk Civil. | May not hear divorce, annulment, separation, alimony, or separation of property. | Not the researched divorce channel. |
| Probate and succession | Exclusive original jurisdiction for probate and succession matters. | May not hear succession, interdiction, receivership, liquidation, or title-to-real-estate suits. | Not the researched probate channel. |
| Records route | Clerk Civil or Criminal Department and ClerkNet where available. | Relevant JP district contact and parish JP resources. | Confirm with the specific municipal or mayor's court if applicable. |
Pointe Coupee Parish District Court Case Flow
A District Court record usually grows in stages. The exact path depends on civil, criminal, family, or probate case type, but the record trail often follows a sequence of filing, court minutes, hearings, orders, judgments, and appeal preparation. The Clerk Civil Department handles civil, divorce, family, succession, exhibit, minute, and appellate-record tasks. The Clerk Criminal Department handles charging documents, motions, subpoenas, notices, minutes, evidence, and appellate records.
Criminal flow: Arrest or citation › charging review › bill of information or indictment › arraignment › motions and subpoenas › plea or trial › disposition and sentence › appeal record if filed.
Civil and family flow: petition filed › service and answer › motions or hearing officer process where applicable › minutes and exhibits › order or judgment › appellate record if appealed.
Succession flow: petition to open succession › will filing or administration request › oath, bond, inventory, or descriptive list where needed › creditor or heir steps › judgment of possession › recording cross-check for immovable property.
Pointe Coupee Parish District Court Programs
The 18th JDC has specialty programs that affect how some records are created or routed, but they are not separate public search systems. Drug Court, Family Court and hearing officer work, Families in Need of Services, CASA, and misdemeanor probation all appear in the research. A case in one of these tracks may still have filings, minutes, orders, or evidence through the Clerk department tied to the case type.
The 18th JDC Drug Court page identifies Drug Court programs, and the court appendices place the Pointe Coupee Parish Drug Court judge with the judge seated in Pointe Coupee Parish, Division A.
Drug Court is best read as a specialized District Court track rather than a separate court-record database.
The 18th JDC Family Court page lists the family hearing officer and contact information for family matters in the district.
Family matters in Pointe Coupee Parish still route through Clerk Civil records when a court file, minutes, or decree is needed.
Pointe Coupee Parish District Court Juvenile Context
Families in Need of Services, often called FINS, is a Louisiana legal process overseen by the Louisiana Supreme Court and used to reduce formal juvenile-court involvement through service referrals. Complaints may come from law enforcement, parents or caretakers, schools, district attorneys, and judges. This matters for record access because juvenile and FINS materials are not ordinary public case files.
The 18th JDC FINS page describes the district's FINS process for Iberville, West Baton Rouge, and Pointe Coupee.
FINS context helps explain why some District Court or family-related records may be restricted from public access.
The 18th JDC CASA page links Court Appointed Special Advocates for the district.
CASA is relevant to family and juvenile court context, but it is not a public record search channel.
Pointe Coupee Parish District Court and JP Courts
Pointe Coupee Parish publishes 12 Justice of the Peace districts. JP courts may decide certain criminal matters, civil disputes up to $5,000, evictions, ordinance violations, notarize documents, and perform weddings. They may not hear divorce, annulment, separation, alimony, separation of property, succession, interdiction, receivership, liquidation, habeas corpus, title-to-real-estate suits, suits against governmental bodies, or suits against public officials performing official duties.
The JP structure matters because some local disputes never become District Court records. A small claim, eviction, ordinance issue, or JP wedding may be documented in a JP channel instead. A divorce, succession, felony, or title-to-real-estate matter should not be routed to JP court. For all district civil, criminal, divorce, family, probate, and appellate record questions, the Clerk of Court remains the main record access point.
The Pointe Coupee Parish Council page provides local civic context near the courthouse system.
The Parish Council is not a District Court record custodian, but it helps place the courthouse in the New Roads civic core.
Pointe Coupee Parish District Court Visits
The Pointe Coupee Parish courthouse and Clerk are at 201 E Main Street, New Roads, LA 70760. The 18th JDC security page applies to courthouse visits in the district. Visitors should expect screening before courtroom entry. Screening may include walk-through metal detectors, x-ray scanners, hand-held wands, and searches of personal items. Official sources did not publish a Pointe Coupee-specific parking lot, parking rate, public transit route, ADA entrance detail, locker rule, food amenity list, or child-care rule.
The prohibited-items list is strict. Do not bring firearms or weapons, knives and scissors, sharp tools, aerosol sprays including mace or pepper spray, cell phones, cameras, audio-visual equipment, food, drinks, or gum into the courtroom area. Visitors who bring prohibited items must surrender them or return them to their vehicles. For court dates, the 18th JDC printable calendar covers criminal court dates and civil rule dates only, and it warns that civil hearing and trial dates change frequently.
Note: Confirm court dates with the judge's office, Clerk, or DA before relying on a printable calendar entry.
Pointe Coupee Parish District Court Language Access
The 18th JDC publishes language-access information for district court users. Chief Judge Tonya S. Lurry is listed as Language Access Coordinator at 850 8th Street, Port Allen, LA 70767, phone 225-336-2419, with hours 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, Monday through Friday. Interpreter request forms and court information are available in English, Spanish, Vietnamese, French, and additional brochure languages.
Language access is a court service, not a case lookup. A person who needs an interpreter should use the court's language-access process and should also keep Clerk record requests separate. The Clerk can help identify civil, criminal, divorce, succession, or recording files, while the language-access coordinator handles interpreter access for court proceedings and forms.