Jefferson Davis Court Dockets Explained
A docket is the court's event list. In Jefferson Davis Parish, a docket can identify a hearing, arraignment, motion hour setting, trial date, juvenile session, traffic appearance, or filing event. It is not the same as the full case record. The full record may include pleadings, orders, motions, exhibits, service returns, minute entries, judgments, and sentencing material.
The 31st Judicial District Court rules are the best local source for recurring docket structure. Those rules state that court convenes annually on the first Tuesday after Labor Day and remains in session under the court schedule. Outside petit and civil jury weeks, motion hour is Tuesday at 9:00 a.m., criminal arraignments are Monday at 9:00 a.m., trial days are Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 9:00 a.m., and juvenile court is Monday at 1:30 p.m.
| Docket Type | Local Source | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Motion hour | 31st JDC rules | Civil and procedural motions outside jury weeks. |
| Criminal arraignment | 31st JDC rules and Clerk criminal records | First formal plea setting after charges are filed. |
| Trial days | 31st JDC schedule | Wednesday through Friday trial settings unless changed by the court. |
| Juvenile court | 31st JDC schedule | Session timing only; juvenile records remain restricted. |
| Traffic appearance | Citation top, DA traffic page, or named court | Payment, contest, safety-class, or trial-date questions. |
Find Jefferson Davis Court Dockets
No complete public Jefferson Davis Parish docket portal was located for all civil and criminal District Court case settings. The Clerk app includes a Court Docket feature, and the 31st JDC rules provide fixed weekly settings, but individual docket confirmation may still require the Clerk, the judge's office, the DA, or the specific city court named on a ticket. The official Louisiana judicial-branch overview helps place the parish docket within the state court system.
That statewide hierarchy matters because District Court dockets differ from city court, justice court, appellate, and federal schedules.
- Start with the court name on the notice, citation, pleading, subpoena, or case document.
- For District Court civil, criminal, probate, or family matters, call the Clerk civil, criminal, and probate line at 337-824-8340.
- For judge-specific schedule issues, use the 31st JDC judge's office number, 337-824-3506.
- For traffic tickets issued by Louisiana State Police or the Sheriff's Office, check the DA traffic page and the court listed on the citation.
- Print or write down the hearing information before arriving because the courthouse states that cell phones are not allowed.
31st JDC Docket Schedule
The District Court rules give unusually useful docket timing for Jefferson Davis Parish. Daily sessions open at 9:00 a.m., recess at noon until 1:30 p.m., and adjourn at 4:30 p.m. No new cases are taken up for trial after 3:00 p.m. unless the court orders it with prior notice to attorneys. These are schedule rules, not a promise that a specific case will be called at a precise minute.
| Setting | When Listed | What It Usually Means |
|---|---|---|
| Motion hour | Tuesday at 9:00 a.m. outside jury weeks | Hearing for motions, rules, and procedural requests. |
| Criminal arraignment | Monday at 9:00 a.m. | Formal reading or handling of charges and plea entry. |
| Juvenile court | Monday at 1:30 p.m. | Juvenile hearing session; records are confidential unless law allows access. |
| Trial days | Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday at 9:00 a.m. | Trial settings for cases scheduled by the court. |
| Daily recess | Noon to 1:30 p.m. | Midday court recess under local rules. |
The District Attorney's official site is another docket-related source for prosecutions and traffic matters.
DA information can help when a docket question involves prosecution, traffic, victim assistance, or a pending criminal setting.
Jefferson Davis Docket Entry Fields
A docket entry may be short. It often gives the event date, case number, party names, event type, court or judge, and the result of the setting. The Jefferson Davis research did not locate a public sample docket-entry page with all fields visible, so the field inventory below is drawn from Clerk duties and District Court rules.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case number | The Clerk identifier used to find the court record. |
| Event date | The date a motion, arraignment, trial, juvenile session, or hearing was set or held. |
| Event type | Motion hour, arraignment, trial, hearing officer conference, juvenile setting, or traffic appearance. |
| Party or counsel | The names tied to the case or the attorney who appeared. |
| Minute entry | The Clerk's official summary of what occurred in court. |
| Disposition or next setting | Dismissal, judgment, sentence, reset date, trial date, or other result when available. |
Jefferson Davis Courts With Dockets
The main trial court is the 31st Judicial District Court, which has original civil and criminal jurisdiction in Jefferson Davis Parish. Local limited-jurisdiction matters may also involve Jennings City Court, Lake Arthur City Court, Welsh City Court, justice of the peace courts, or mayor's courts where applicable. Appeals from the District Court go to the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal.
- 31st Judicial District Court handles general civil and criminal matters for Jefferson Davis Parish.
- Jennings City Court may handle local traffic or municipal matters when named on a citation.
- Lake Arthur City Court may be the correct docket source for citations assigned there.
- Welsh City Court is another traffic or city-court contact named by the DA traffic page.
- Justice of the peace courts can exist for local matters where city court jurisdiction has not replaced them.
The official DA biography page identifies current prosecution leadership for the 31st Judicial District.
DA leadership is relevant when docket questions concern filed charges, prosecution settings, or traffic prosecution policies.
Jefferson Davis Traffic Dockets
Traffic dockets are not all handled in one place. The DA traffic page says the traffic section receives citations issued by Louisiana State Police and the Jefferson Davis Sheriff's Office. A person may pay before the court date or appear on the citation date to contest and receive a trial date. The top of the citation tells the proper court.
The official DA traffic ticket page names 31st Judicial District Court, Jennings City Court, Lake Arthur City Court, and Welsh City Court as possible local court contacts.
This traffic source is the strongest local docket clue when a ticket is the only document in hand.
Docket vs Full Case Record
The docket is a tracking tool. The case record is the file. A docket can help confirm whether a hearing happened, when the next setting is, or what type of event was scheduled. A full Jefferson Davis Parish court record can include the pleadings, criminal bills, motions, service returns, minute entries, exhibits, orders, judgments, and sentencing papers that explain what the docket only names.
| Docket | Full Case Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Event list or calendar setting | Documents, minutes, orders, and filed papers |
| Main use | Track hearings and case progress | Read the legal filing or outcome |
| Access point | Court schedule, Clerk, judge's office, citation court | Clerk of Court search, copy, or certified-copy request |
| Common limit | May not explain the result fully | May require fees or may be restricted |
Criminal Docket Contacts
Criminal docket questions can involve the court, Clerk, District Attorney, and defense counsel. The Louisiana State Public Defender District 31 page lists Jefferson Davis Parish public-defender contact information and reports four courts and seven divisions in court for District 31, with 1,539 individuals represented in calendar year 2025.
The official District 31 public defender page gives a defense-side contact point for appointed-counsel matters.
Public-defender information should be used for representation questions, not for replacing the Clerk's official docket confirmation.
Note: Juvenile session times may be public schedule information, but juvenile court records are confidential unless law allows disclosure.