Court Closings & Openings as of September 2, 2005

On Wednesday, August 31, 2005, Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeals Clerk/Court Administrator, Diana Pratt-Wyatt 318 227-3702, put out the following information.

The Louisiana Supreme Court, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, and the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal are currently closed until further notice due to the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Katrina in south Louisiana. Operational plans for the courts are currently being devised and will be issued as soon as possible. Information about these courts will continue to be posted to the following Courts of Appeal websites as it becomes available.

www.lacoa2.org
www.la-fcca.org
www.la3circuit.org



You can email Diana at: CLerkdpw@lasccoa.state.la.us
As of this posting, the Louisiana Supreme Court Website, is still not operational.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Website indicate the emergency "command post" for the court is currently located in Houston at the district court

The website provides the following Information for Attorneys and Litigants:

1. Do not send any filings or documents to New Orleans at this time.

2. All filing deadlines on or after August 24 through September 9 are automatically extended until September 12, subject to further extension. Before filing, check our internet website as set out below.

3. Attorneys and litigants are directed regularly to check our internet website, www.ca5.uscourts.gov for additional instructions and information.

4. True emergency matters, e.g. death penalty cases with execution dates, or deportation matters with an imminent and confirmed deportation dates, may be filed by FAX at 713-250- 5050 or mailed or delivered to:

Chambers of Chief Judge Carolyn Dineen King
Rm. 11020
515 Rusk Street
Houston, Texas 77002.

Questions or comments can be sent to Webmaster_ca5@_ca5.uscourts.gov


The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas reports on its home page that its main internet server which is located in New Orleans, LA is down. It is currently operation on its COOP internet server which contains important messages such as filing extensions, court relocation notices etc. in the case of an emergency or crises. The court does not anticipate any delays in the court schedule

Likewise the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi reports on its website that its main internet server which is located in New Orleans, LA is down and awaiting restoration of power in the meantime it will continue to post important messages on its COOP internet server


The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana website has the following notice:

The offices of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana are closed until further notice. By order of Chief Judge Helen G. Berrigan, all deadlines and delays in matters pending before this court are suspended until ordered otherwise.