U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana
Louisiana · A federal trial court, where federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. Appeals go to the Fifth Circuit.
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana is a United States district court, a federal trial court where most federal civil and criminal cases are first heard. It lies within the Fifth Circuit, which reviews its decisions on appeal. This page lists every judge to serve on the court, current and former, with who appointed them and whom they succeeded.
Party letters here are the appointing president’s, never a judge’s own: D Democratic, R Republican, N pre-modern-party era (Federalist, Whig, and other early parties); “–” means no recorded party. Counts cover the court’s entire history.
Judges in active service
- S. M. Hicks Jr.
- Terry A. Doughty
- Robert R. Summerhays
- James D. Cain Jr.
- David C. Joseph
- Jerry Edwards Jr.
- Alexander C. V. Hook
Senior judges
Still members of the court: senior judges have stepped back from a full docket but continue to hear cases.
Seats over time
Each band is one judgeship, from the court’s founding to today. A segment’s width is the holder’s tenure; its color is the appointing president’s party. Gaps are vacancies.
Tucker L. Melancon (current) · Elizabeth Erny Foote (current) · Alexander Coker Van Hook (current) · James Travis Trimble Jr. (current) · James David Cain Jr. (current) · Jerry Edwards Jr. (current) · Dee D. Drell (current) · David Cleveland Joseph (current) · Robert Gillespie James (current) · Terry Alvin Doughty (current) · Donald Ellsworth Walter (current) · S. Maurice Hicks Jr. (current) · Robert Rees Summerhays (current) · Edwin Ford Hunter Jr. · Benjamin Cornwell Dawkins Sr. · Richard Johnson Putnam
Former judges
| Judge | Appointed by | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Michael Joseph Juneau | Trump (R) | 2018–2023 |
| Patricia Head Minaldi | G.W. Bush (R) | 2003–2018 |
| Rebecca F. Doherty | G.H.W. Bush (R) | 1991–2020 |
| Richard T. Haik | G.H.W. Bush (R) | 1991–2016 |
| John Malcolm Duhe Jr. | Reagan (R) | 1984–1988 |
| F. A. Little Jr. | Reagan (R) | 1984–2006 |
| John Malach Shaw | Carter (D) | 1979–1999 |
| Earl Ernest Veron | Carter (D) | 1977–1990 |
| W. Eugene Davis | Ford (R) | 1976–1983 |
| Thomas E. Stagg Jr. | Nixon (R) | 1974–2015 |
| Nauman Steele Scott | Nixon (R) | 1970–2001 |
| Richard Johnson Putnam | Kennedy (D) | 1961–2002 |
| Edwin Ford Hunter Jr. | Eisenhower (R) | 1954–2002 |
| Benjamin Cornwell Dawkins Jr. | Eisenhower (R) | 1953–1984 |
| Gaston Louis Noel Porterie | F.D. Roosevelt (D) | 1939–1953 |
| Benjamin Cornwell Dawkins Sr. | Coolidge (R) | 1924–1966 |
| George Whitfield Jack | Wilson (D) | 1917–1924 |
| Alexander Boarman | Garfield (R) | 1881–1916 |
| Henry Boyce | Taylor (N) | 1850–1861 |
| Theodore Howard McCaleb | Tyler (N) | 1841–1845 |
| Philip Kissick Lawrence | Van Buren (D) | 1837–1841 |
| Samuel Hadden Harper | Jackson (D) | 1829–1837 |
| Thomas Bolling Robertson | Monroe (N) | 1824–1828 |
| John Dick | Reassigned | 1823–1824 |
Magistrate judges
Appointed by the judges of this district to renewable 8-year terms, not nominated by the president or confirmed by the Senate. They handle pretrial matters, misdemeanors, and many civil cases by consent.
| Magistrate judge | Years |
|---|---|
| Kayla Dye May McClusky | 2021–present |
| Joseph H.L. Perez-Montes | 2015–present |
| Carol B. Whitehurst | 2015–present |
| Patrick Hanna | 2009–present |
| Kathleen Kay | 2007–present |
| Karen L. Hayes | 2005–present |
| Mark L. Hornsby | 2005–present |
| C Michael Hill | 2001–2015 |
| James D Kirk | 1998–2015 |
Bankruptcy court
How a judge gets here. Each judge is nominated by a president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate, then holds a numbered seat, for life, until they take senior status, or until they leave the bench. Open any judge to see who appointed them, how the Senate voted, and whom they succeeded, a chain that runs back to 1823. This court is also served by magistrate judges, listed above, whom the district’s own judges appoint. Read more on how federal judges are appointed.
Source: FJC Biographical Directory and CourtListener / Free Law Project (bulk data). Data as of 2026-08-10 (FJC); magistrates 2026-03-31 (CourtListener bulk snapshot). Verify against the primary source before relying.