East Baton Rouge County Court Records Lookup

The following is for information purposes only

Founded in 1812, East Baton Rouge Parish is considered the most populous parish in Louisiana, accounting for over 454,300 residents. Its government seat and largest city is Baton Rouge. The trial court system in East Baton Rouge consists of a District court, a Family Court, a Juvenile Court, City Courts, Justices of the Peace Courts, and a Mayor's Court.

The highest trial court in East Baton Rouge Parish is the 19th Judicial District Court, located in Baton Rouge. This Court handles criminal cases such as felonies and driving while intoxicated, as well as juvenile and domestic relations matters. The Family Court focuses on cases such as divorce, child visitation, spousal support, child custody, domestic violence, and division of community property. The Juvenile Court hears proceedings relating to adoption and juvenile delinquency. The three city courts in East Baton Rouge (Baker City Court, Baton Rouge City Court, and Zachary City Court) exercise jurisdiction over general civil claims of up to $35,000, misdemeanors, traffic offenses, and ordinance violations. Furthermore, there are six Justices of the Peace Courts in East Baton Rouge Parish. Each court handles preliminary hearings for most criminal cases, litter violations, and civil cases of up to $5,000. The Mayor's Court is responsible for dealing with traffic and local ordinance violations.

In 2022, East Baton Rouge Parish recorded 2,312 crimes against persons and 8,507 property crimes. According to the Louisiana Judiciary Annual Report, 33,725 cases were instituted in the District Court in 2023. Similarly, during the year, the city courts in Baker, Baton Rouge, and Zachary resolved 2,154 cases, 64,980 cases, and 3,124 cases, respectively. Each court in East Baton Rouge Parish has a Clerk who maintains and provides public access to court records in the parish. Residents can now search for court records online through the Clerk Connect Portal. This portal contains several case records, including records of criminal, civil, family, probate, and traffic cases. Due to the nature of some files, they are sealed and considered to be confidential. These files typically include matters surrounding medial and mental information, adoptions and custodial matters, as well as juvenile matters.

In summary, the District, Family, Juvenile, City, Justice of the Peace, and Mayor Courts work collectively to protect individual rights and facilitate access to justice in East Baton Rouge Parish. These courts further promote public trust in the judicial system by granting online access to public court records.