State Supreme Court mandates domestic violence training for all Louisiana judges

New Orleans, LA (WVUE) - The Louisiana Supreme Court on Wednesday (June 4) ordered all judges in the state to undergo training on running “trauma-informed courts” and learning best practices for domestic violence cases.

The order, effective immediately, requires Louisiana judges to attend a one-hour training session every other year. The seminars will be offered by the Louisiana Judicial College and Louisiana Protective Order Registry.

The training is intended “to ensure judges have access to the latest information and best practices on domestic violence issues, including issuing protective orders, the special needs of domestic violence victims and evidence-based practices to minimize or eliminate further trauma to children and families,” the court said in a news release.

“The justices and I share a concern about the unfortunate prevalence of domestic violence in our state,” Chief Justice John L. Weimer said in the statement. “While judges must remain neutral arbiters of the facts and law, we also must be cognizant of the painful toll of domestic violence and trauma in our communities. Trauma-informed judicial training is a tool that we will use to ensure everyone, including domestic violence victims, have their voices heard in our courtrooms.”

The statement credited Justice John Michael Guidry with recommending the mandatory training.

“We realize the serious step of mandating judicial coursework on a specific subject,” Guidry said in the statement. “However, domestic violence remains a critical issue for Louisiana. This specialized judicial training will give judges additional insight and perspective into how violence and stress affect all types of people who interact with the Louisiana court system.”

The state Supreme Court requires state court judges to complete 12½ hours of continuing legal education each year (only five hours if the judge is 65 or older). The new rule requires at least one of those hours to be related to domestic violence training every other year, starting on Jan. 1 of the year following their election to judicial office.

This article was written by Ken Daley for and published by Louisiana news source Fox 8 (fox8live.com). This article is being shared for educational purposes.