Judge D. Nicole Sheppard
Division J

OFFICE HOURS - Room 411

Monday through Friday
9:00 am to 4:00 pm
Closed 12:00pm to 1:00 pm

Phone: (504) 407-0290
Fax: (504) 680-8427

RULE DAYS

Please call for available rule dates.

RULES PROCEDURE

In general: Rules are generally set for 9:00 a.m. Please call the division for confirmation of a date. Pursuant to Local Rule 9.9, hearing dates will not be set without providing a courtesy copy of the motion and memorandum to the division chambers. There will be no testimony of witnesses on rule days unless previously approved by the division.

Motions for Summary Judgement- Motions for summary judgment shall be filed in accordance with Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 966. The motion and all documents in support thereof shall be filed and served not less than 65 days prior to the trial. Any opposition to the motion and any documents in support thereof shall be filed and served not less than 15 days prior to the hearing on the motion. Any reply memorandum shall be filed and served not less than 5 days prior to the hearing on the motion. A contradictory hearing on the motion shall be set not less than 30 days after the filing and not less than 30 days prior to the trial date.

Memoranda supporting or opposing motions or exceptions- These memoranda are due eight days before the hearing as required by Local Rule 9.9. Failure to comply with this rule may result in forfeiture of oral argument. Please submit a courtesy copy to chambers along with filing it into the record.

Continuances of rules- In order for a rule to be continued, the mover must submit written confirmation via fax or email to the law clerk that the adverse parties have been contacted and have no objection to the continuance. The party requesting the continuance should also file a motion to reset along with service sheets and instructions. If there is an objection, a contradictory hearing will take place on the set rule date. Matters continued without date will need to have new courtesy copies of the pleadings delivered when the matter is reset.

TRIALS

A motion to set trial may be filed by either party only after ALL discovery is complete. Once the motion to set trial is received, the minute clerk will send a notice to all counsel of a conference date to choose a trial date.

Joint Pre-Trial Outlines are due 30 days before trial. Please submit a courtesy copy to chambers along with filing it in the record.

Exhibit Books- The parties shall have a conference date with each other at least ten days prior to trial to exchange exhibits and determine what exhibits are agreed upon as being authenticated and admissible. All exhibits that are agreed upon as being both authenticated and admissible should be labeled as "Joint Exhibit No. 1,2,3..." and put in binders. All other exhibits shall be labeled as either "Plaintiff Exhibit No. 1,2,3..." or "Defendant Exhibit No.1,2,3..." and put in binders. An exhibit list should be included of all exhibits. Those exhibits that are objected to should indicate whether it is for admissibility or authenticity or both. Each party should have an exhibit book for themselves, the opposing party, the judge, and the witness. Counsel shall deliver the hard copy bench book of tabbed exhibits to Division J chambers five working days before the start of trial.

Jury trials- Proposed special jury charges and jury interrogatories must be hand delivered to Division J chambers via a hard copy and a copy email in MS Word format must be submitted to the law clerks via email.

Video display systems and ELMO interactive documentation display systemsare available for use in our courtroom. These services/tools are available for reservation for a small fee and should be reserved at least 48 business hours in advance of the event; all equipment and services are first come, first served. Please complete the video request form on the court's website to make your reservation.

Continuance of trials- A written motion to continue trial must be filed with the court. The motion must contain a brief reason for the continuance, whether this is the first request for a continuance, and whether the opposing party objects to the continuance. It is within the judge's sole discretion to grant or deny the continuance. If the continuance is contested, the judge will hear the motion to continue on the morning of trial.

JUDGMENTS

Judgments must be submitted within ten days of the hearing/trial. Please include the names of all attorneys or parties who need to be notified, including their bar numbers, addresses, and emails, on all judgments. The party preparing the judgment must circulate the judgment and attach a 9.5 certificate.

*If the parties are in disagreement with the judgment, they should request a transcript from the court reporter and attach a copy to their proposed judgment.

After the judgment is signed, the original is filed in the record and a certified copy of the judgment and notice of signing of judgment will be mailed to all parties as per Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure Article 1913. Additional copies of judgments may be obtained from the Clerk's Office.

TRANSCRIPT REQUESTS

Transcript requests should be directed to the court reporter, Marsha Cazes , CCR, via email at mcazes@orleanscdc.com. Please include the case caption, case number, and date of hearing. Daily copy transcript requests of trials must be pre-arranged with the court reporter prior to the day of trial.

COURT COSTS AND JUDICIAL INTEREST

All matters relating to court costs or judicial interest rates are to be directed to the Clerk's Office at (504) 407-0000.

All matters relating to service costs are to be directed to the Sheriff's Office at (504) 523-6143.

Division J Forms:

Voir Dire Seating Chart
General Jury Charges
Division J Exhibit List
Sheriff's Return Cover Sheet
Motion to Set Trial
Joint Pre-Trial Outline
Jury Instructions