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News & Announcements: 2020-04

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.

April 24, 2020
Effective immediately: The Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has issued COVID-19 General Order No. 20-6, amending COVID-19 General Orders 20-2 through 20-5 to extend certain deadlines addressed therein:   (1) All civil and criminal jury trials currently suspended until May 1, 2020, are hereby further suspended until August 1, 2020, and will be reset by each presiding judge. Those continuances do not continue any pending deadlines other than the trial dates. Attorneys should contact the presiding judges in their continued cases if they seek to modify such other deadlines.    (2) With respect to other matters requiring in-person appearances, including bench trials, hearings, conferences or other proceedings in either civil or criminal matters between the date of this order and August 1, 2020, counsel must contact the presiding judge's chambers to determine whether and how the matter will proceed.    (3) All grand jury proceedings in this District are suspended until August 1, 2020, subject to change upon motion from the government and further orders of the Court.   (4) With regard to criminal matters, the time period of the postponements implemented by this administrative order will be excluded under the Speedy Trial Act, as the Court specifically finds that the ends of justice served by ordering the postponements outweigh the best interest of the public and any defendant's right to a speedy trial, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3161(h)(7)(A).   (5) All events involving the Court or scheduled to be held in the courthouse that are not case-specific, including, but not limited to, continuing legal education courses, public tours, Inns of Court meetings, and naturalization ceremonies conducted by the Court, which are scheduled to occur between May 1, 2020 and August 1, 2020, are hereby cancelled and will be rescheduled when appropriate.  Please see the Eastern District of Louisiana website, www.laed.uscourts.gov, for additional information and for updates. View this PDF.
April 3, 2020
Effective immediately, the Hale Boggs Federal Building located at 500 Poydras Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, which houses the United States District Court as well as the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, is closed to the general public. The District Court and Bankruptcy Court are operating with skeletal crews to perform critical mission responsibilities. Litigants may file documents electronically through the District and Bankruptcy Courts' CM/ECF systems, which remain fully operational. Unrepresented persons may send filings electronically to the District Court at prosedocs@laed.uscourts.gov, by facsimile at (504) 310-8159, or by U.S. Mail to The Clerk's Office, U.S. District Court, 500 Poydras Street, Room C-151, New Orleans, LA 70130. Unrepresented persons may send filings electronically to the Bankruptcy Court at Orders_Clerk@laeb.uscourts.gov, by facsimile to (504) 589-7866, or by U.S. Mail to The Clerk's Office, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, 500 Poydras Street, Suite B-601, New Orleans, LA 70130.  The public is encouraged to use online Court resources for the District Court http://www.laed.uscourts.gov and the Bankruptcy Court http://www.laeb.uscourts.gov or contact the Courts by telephone with any questions.    View this PDF.