About the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court

The Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court has original jurisdiction of all civil and criminal matters in Jefferson Parish, with the exceptionof certain juvenile matters. The Twenty-Fourth Judicial District Court has appellate jurisdiction of appeals from all city courts in Jefferson Parish. There are 16 elected divisions of court in the District Court system. There is also a Criminal Commissioner’s Court, a Domestic Commissioner’s Court, as well as 4 hearing officers. The Twenty- Fourth Judicial District Court is located in the Thomas F. Donelon Building, previously known as the “Annex Building” to the Jefferson Parish Courthouse. The address is 200 Derbigny Street, Gretna, LA 70053. The Annex Building was originally built in 1969 and initially had only two stories. Three additional stories were added in the late 1970s. After the addition of the three stories, it housed the Louisiana 5th Circuit Court of Appeal and the Jefferson Parish District Attorneys Office. In the early 2000s the 5th Circuit and the District Attorneys Office moved into their own buildings. The Annex was completely renovated starting in October of 2004 and completed in January of 2007. The first judge for the 24th Judicial District Court was L. Robert Rivarde. He took the oath of office on December 22, 1924. He was the only district judge in the parish until August 1, 1944, when a second division of court was established and Leo W. McCune took his oath of office. As the Parish’s population grew, the court increased the number of divisions to its present number.