How to Find Orleans Parish Court Dockets
Civil and land dockets are reached through the Clerk of Civil District Court's remote access portal, linked from the clerk's online records page. Felony dockets start at Criminal District Court. You will move faster with the case number, but a party name and a rough date also work.
- Decide whether the matter is civil or criminal. That sets the clerk and the system.
- Open the right portal: the civil remote access system, or the Criminal District Court site.
- Search by case number, or by party name with a date range.
- Open the case to view the docket sheet and its dated entries.
- Note the section or division, then request copies of any listed document from the clerk.
If a criminal docket is not exposed online, the Criminal District Court Clerk is the contact for docket information. Current jail custody is a different record and is checked through the sheriff's detainee query.
Have the basics ready before you start. The full names of the parties, the year the case was filed, and any case or instrument number you already hold will cut the search time. For older or common names, try a few spelling variants, since clerk systems match on exact text.
What an Orleans Parish Court Docket Shows
A docket sheet is a chronological index. Each line marks an event and the date it happened. Together the lines tell the story of the case from the first filing to the final judgment. Document images may sit behind the entries, sometimes requiring an account or a copy fee.
| Docket Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Case Number | The court-specific docket identifier for the matter. |
| Court / Section | Civil or Criminal District Court and the assigned division or judge. |
| Entry Date | The date each filing, order, or hearing was recorded. |
| Entry Type | Petition, answer, motion, rule, order, judgment, or minute entry. |
| Hearing | Date, time, section, and type of any scheduled hearing. |
| Disposition | How the case or a charge resolved, when entered. |
Sealed entries, juvenile matters, and protected identifiers are kept out of public docket views.
Civil District Court Dockets
Civil dockets cover lawsuits, divorce, custody, support, succession, and foreclosure. A typical civil docket opens with a petition, then logs service returns, the defendant's answer, exceptions, motions, and hearing settings. It closes with a judgment and, in successions, a judgment of possession. The civil clerk's remote access system is the main public window into these entries.
Land and notarial records run on a parallel track. Conveyances, mortgages, and liens are indexed by instrument number rather than a civil case number, and older notarial acts may be retrieved by the notary's name and the date of the act. That historic indexing is unique to New Orleans and reaches back to the colonial era.
Criminal District Court Dockets
Criminal dockets track felony and major criminal cases. They begin with a bill of information or a grand jury indictment, then log the arraignment, bond setting, motions, hearings, trial settings, and sentencing minutes. A criminal docket and a jail record are not the same thing. The docket follows the court case, while the sheriff's detainee query follows current custody.
Civil and criminal dockets differ in structure, so it helps to compare them before you search.
| Feature | Civil Docket | Criminal Docket |
|---|---|---|
| Opening filing | Petition | Bill of information or indictment |
| Parties | Plaintiff and defendant | State and defendant |
| Key events | Answer, motions, judgment | Arraignment, bond, sentencing |
| Held by | Clerk of Civil District Court | Criminal District Court Clerk |
Reading Minute Entries on a Docket
Minute entries are the short official notes of what happened in court. They are dense, and they use legal shorthand. A few common terms make them easier to read.
- Minute Entry
- The clerk's short record of a hearing or court session.
- Motion
- A request asking the judge to take some action.
- Continuance
- A postponement of a hearing or trial to a later date.
- Capias
- A court order to arrest, often issued for a missed court date.
- Disposition
- The outcome of the case or a single charge.
When an entry is unclear, the clerk that holds the docket can confirm what a code means.
Hearing Dates and Court Divisions
Each Orleans Parish trial court divides work among numbered sections or divisions, and a case stays with its assigned judge. The docket lists the section, the courtroom, and the date and time of each hearing. For civil matters, the section is set when the case is filed. For criminal matters, the section is tied to the division handling the charge.
The Louisiana Supreme Court publishes its own docket page for matters that reach the state's highest court. That is the appellate end of the path, not the trial-court docket most people search.
When Orleans Parish Dockets Update
Dockets update after the clerk enters a filing, not the instant a document is handed in. A motion filed today may post tomorrow. A judgment may take longer to appear as an image. Treat the online docket as current to the last clerk entry, and confirm time-sensitive dates with the clerk or the section.
Sealed and Confidential Dockets
Some dockets are restricted. Juvenile matters are confidential under the Louisiana Children's Code. Sealed and expunged criminal cases drop from ordinary public search. Adoption files and certain protective-order details are also withheld. A sealed docket may show nothing, or it may show a limited entry without the underlying documents.
Note: A missing docket does not always mean no case exists; it can mean the matter is sealed, juvenile, or filed in a different court.
Appeals and Higher Court Dockets
When a trial-court case is appealed, a new docket opens at the appellate court. Orleans Parish appeals normally go to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, with further review possible in the Louisiana Supreme Court. The trial docket and the appellate docket are separate records with their own numbers, so an appeal is tracked apart from the original case.
Common Orleans Parish Docket Questions
A few questions come up again and again when people first read a docket.
Why does a docket entry have no document attached? Not every entry links to an image. Some filings are not scanned, some sit behind a paid or registered account, and sealed items show only a limited note. The clerk can tell you whether a copy is available and what it costs.
Can I tell the outcome of a case from the docket? Look for the disposition line and the final judgment. A charge or a petition only shows what was claimed. The judgment, plea, or sentence shows how the matter ended.
Is the docket the same as a certified copy? No. The online docket is a reference view. A certified copy is a clerk-issued document with a seal, and it is the version courts and agencies accept as proof.