Effective immediately: In response to the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), to combat the spread of the disease, given the severity of risks posed to the public, Court staff, and other Court agencies, and considering the public health recommendations from the CDC, the Eastern District of Louisiana issued COVID-19 General Order No. 20-2. The order
(1) continues all civil and criminal bench and jury trials until May 1, 2020, to a date to be reset by each presiding judge, but does not continue any other pending deadlines;
(2) continues all civil and criminal in-person hearings, proceedings, and conferences until May 1, 2020, to be reset by each presiding judge;
(3) suspends all grand jury proceedings until May 1, 2020;
(4) issues findings pursuant to the Speedy Trial Act;
(5) indicates that criminal matters before magistrate judges will continue in the ordinary course but may be held by video conferencing if available;
(6) cancels naturalization ceremonies, CLE programs, and all events in the courthouse that are not case-specific until May 1, 2020, and
(7) requires that, beginning March 18, 2020, all attorney admissions be handled by motion and order.
Please see the Eastern District of Louisiana website, www.laed.uscourts.gov, for additional information and for updates.
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News & Announcements
Check this page, or the News and Announcements box on the homepage, for the latest official news and announcements released by the court. You can also access archived news and announcements from this page.
March 16, 2020
March 12, 2020
Effective immediately: In order to limit the spread of the coronavirus and out of deep concern for our employees, attorneys and their staff who frequent our building, judges and the community at large, the Eastern District of Louisiana has suspended all non-case related public gatherings and events in the United States District Court House until further notice. Please check the Eastern District of Louisiana website, www.laed.uscourts.gov, for regular updates.
March 11, 2020
The United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, continues to monitor the most current statements from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as all communications disseminated by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), regarding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The Court is following recommended guidelines from public health officials and preparedness guidance from the AO. Currently, there has been no adjustment in court operations, except as listed below:
Please note that if you have traveled to China, Italy, Iran, or South Korea within the last 14 days; reside or have had close contact with someone who has traveled in one of the above areas within the last 14 days; have been asked to self-quarantine by any hospital or health agency; or have been diagnosed with, or have had contact with, anyone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, you must inform the Court Security Officers (CSOs) upon entering the courthouse and will be restricted from entering the building. If you are so affected and are an attorney scheduled to appear before the Court in the near future, you must notify the Court so that appropriate safeguard measures can be taken. You may appear via teleconference or video-conference where the technology is available and with the approval of the presiding Judge.
March 3, 2020
POSTPONED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS PRECAUTIONS - U.S. District Court-EDLA presents a Women’s History Month event entitled, “Celebrating 100 Years of Women’s Right to Vote,” Wednesday, March 18, 2020, 12:00 pm, Courtroom 501, no Charge, 1-hour CLE credit, lunch provided.
March 2, 2020
On February 18, 2020, the U. S. District Court hosted an African American History Month program entitled After the Middle Passage: The American Slave Trade from 1808 to 1865. The program focused on the U.S. domestic slave trade and spoke to New Orleans’ role as the largest slave market in antebellum America. It was presented by historian Erin Greenwald, Vice-President of Content at the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and Curator of the Historic New Orleans Collection’s Purchased Lives. To complement the presentation, the Historic New Orleans Collection provided its Purchased Lives traveling exhibit. The impeccably designed exhibit consisted of 5 banners with front and back representations of artwork, documents, artifacts, and other materials unique to the American slave trade. The program was well-attended by attorneys, state and federal judges, and other members of the legal community. The court thanks the following agencies and organizations that helped plan the event: GNO Louis A. Martinet Society, Association for Women Attorneys, Federal Bar Association, New Orleans Bar Association, EDLA Federal Public Defender’s Office, EDLA United States Attorney’s Office, and EDLA United States Probation Office.
February 5, 2020
REGISTRATION CLOSED! - U.S. District Court-EDLA presents an African American History Month event entitled, “After the Middle Passage: The American Slave Trade from 1808 to 1865,” Tuesday, February 18, 2020, 12:00 pm, Courtroom 501, No Charge, 1-Hour CLE Credit, Lunch provided.
January 21, 2020
Hard-working, highly organized, extremely knowledgeable, disciplined, and experienced, all are attributes of William (“Bill”) Blevins who served as the Clerk of the Court for the United States District Court for Eastern District of Louisiana (“EDLA”) from May, 2013, when he was selected to be the Clerk following the retirement of Loretta Whyte, until January, 2020. During his over six and one-half year tenure in the Eastern District of Louisiana, Bill’s leadership and skilled management moved the Clerk’s Office forward in such diverse areas as Information Technology/Systems, Financial Administration and Budget, Shared Administrative Services, and Operations. He worked with three Chief Judges in the Eastern District of Louisiana, including current Chief Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown, who became Chief Judge in 2018, District Judge Sarah S. Vance who served as Chief Judge from 2008 to 2015, and who was serving as Chief Judge when Bill was appointed Clerk of Court in 2013, and Circuit Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, formerly EDLA District Judge and EDLA Chief Judge from 2015 to 2018.
During Bill’s long and distinguished career with the Judiciary, he has served as the Chief Deputy Clerk for the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, and for the twelve years preceding his term in the Eastern District of Louisiana, Clerk of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Florida. A native of Norfolk, Virginia, and former resident of Richmond, Virginia, Bill earned both a B.A. and an M.B.A. from the University of Richmond. Bill and his wife, Malinda, have four adult children. On January 6, 2020, Bill returned home to Richmond, Virginia, where many members of his and his wife’s family reside, to serve as the Chief Deputy Clerk of Operations for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Bill shepherded to successful completion an astonishing number of updates, upgrades, new projects, initiatives, transitions and changes, touching virtually every unit in the operations, technological, and administrative areas of the office. He was responsive to the requests and needs of the judges but also implemented programs to meet staff needs. He provided superb mentoring and advice to his staff and deeply cared about the court and doing the very best job that he could. He and his family became true New Orleanians, participating fully in the unique culture of our city. We wish him the very best as he and Malinda move back home to Virginia. He will be sorely missed.
(*A full length version of this article is featured in the current (Winter 2020, Vol. 29, No. 2) issue of the New Chapter of the Federal Bar Association’s Advocate.)
January 9, 2020
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana is pleased to announce the selection of Donna Phillips Currault as Magistrate Judge for the District, subject to completion of a standard background check.
Ms. Currault graduated magna cum laude from Tulane University School of Law in 1989 and was inducted to the Order of the Coif. While in law school, she was a member of the Tulane Law Review and served as a managing editor from 1988-89. She also served as a Senior Fellow for Tulane Law School’s Legal Research and Writing program. After graduating law school, she served as a judicial law clerk for the Honorable Morey L. Sear.
Ms. Currault comes to the Court from Gordon, Arata, Montgomery Barnett, LLC, where she has worked for almost 30 years as an associate and then partner/member. Her practice includes complex commercial litigation matters, including class and collective actions, as well as labor and employment matters. She is an active member of the Federal Bar Association and its New Orleans Chapter, having served as Chair of the FBA’s Labor & Employment Section in 2015-16 and on the New Orleans Chapter’s Board of Directors since 2002 where she currently serves at the Recording Secretary. In September 2019, she was elected to serve as a Director of the Foundation of the FBA, where she is Life Fellow. She is also a Fellow of the American and Louisiana Bar Foundations and Litigation Counsel of America. She currently serves as the Examiner for Code I for the Louisiana Committee on Bar Examinations.
January 9, 2020
Pursuant to Local Civil Rule 83.2.2(D), every attorney admitted to practice before the Eastern District of Louisiana must pay an annual fee which is collected every third year. Commencing January 1, 2020, the Court will collect triennial dues of $45.00 ($15.00 per year for 2020, 2021 and 2022) from all attorneys admitted to this Court's bar. No later than March 1, 2020, all attorneys admitted to the bar of this Court will be required to pay their triennial attorney's dues electronically. Instructions on electronic payment of dues can be found here. On November 12, 2019, the Eastern District of Louisiana implemented CM/ECF NextGen and since that date, to file in CM/ECF attorneys must have linked their CM/ECF account to their individual PACER account. Instructions on linking can be found here.