United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana

The United States Court for the Middle District of Louisiana (in case citations, M.D. La.) comprises the parishes of Ascension, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, Iberville, Livingston, Pointe Coupee, St. Helena, West Baton Rouge, and West Feliciana. Court is held at the Russell B. Long United States Courthouse in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It falls under the jurisdiction of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against the U.S. government under the Tucker Act, which are appealed to the Federal Circuit).

The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Louisiana represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in the court. the United States attorney is Ronald C. Gathe.

History
On March 26, 1804, Congress organized the Territory of Orleans and created the United States District Court for the District of Orleans - the only time Congress provided a territory with a district court equal in its authority and jurisdiction to those of the states. The United States District Court for the District of Louisiana was established on April 8, 1812, by 2 Stat. 701, several weeks before Louisiana was formally admitted as a state of the union. The District was thereafter subdivided and reformed several times. It was first subdivided into Eastern and Western Districts on March 3, 1823, by 3 Stat. 774.

On February 13, 1845, Louisiana was reorganized into a single District with one judgeship, by 5 Stat. 722, but was again divided into Eastern and the Western Districts on March 3, 1849, by 9 Stat. 401. Congress again abolished the Western District of Louisiana and reorganized Louisiana as a single judicial district on July 27, 1866, by 14 Stat. 300. On March 3, 1881, by 21 Stat. 507, Louisiana was for a third time divided into Eastern and the Western Districts, with one judgeship authorized for each. The Middle District was formed from portions of those two Districts on December 18, 1971, by 85 Stat. 741, making it one of the youngest districts in the United States.

U.S. Attorneys

 * Douglas M. Gonzales 1972-76
 * Cheney C. Joseph, Jr. 1976-77
 * Donald L. Beckner 1977-81
 * Stanford O. Bardwell, Jr. 1981-86
 * P. Raymond Lamonica 1986-94
 * L. J. Hymel 1994-2001
 * David R. Dugas 2001-2010
 * Don Cazayoux Jr. 2010-2013
 * James Walter Frazer Green 2013-2017
 * Corey Amundson 2017-2018
 * Brandon Fremin 2018-2021
 * Ronald C. Gathe 2021-present