Rapides Parish District Court Overview
The primary trial court for Rapides Parish is the 9th Judicial District Court. The State Court Structure Map identifies the court as a seven-judge Louisiana district court with Divisions A through G and a hearing officer. The court states that it has original authority over civil, criminal, and juvenile matters within Rapides Parish. The district court sits in the Rapides Parish Courthouse at 701 Murray Street, Suite 501, Alexandria, Louisiana 71301, and the court's contact page lists phone 318-443-6893 and fax 318-484-2704.
District courts are Louisiana's general-jurisdiction trial courts. In Rapides Parish, the 9th JDC handles private civil disputes, contract and property cases, personal injury claims, marriage and family matters, criminal proceedings, juvenile matters, successions, adoptions, judicial commitments, bills of indictment, bills of information, and other filings recorded by the clerk. Appeals from the 9th JDC go to the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, which lists Rapides Parish within its territory.
The 9th JDC jurisdiction page is the first successful district-court image in the manifest.
That source supports the court's broad trial authority over civil, criminal, family, juvenile, and other district-court matters in Rapides Parish.
Rapides Parish District Court Divisions
Rapides Parish does not have multiple separate numbered district courts at different addresses. The researched court table identifies one 9th Judicial District Court with seven divisions and a hearing officer. Each division is tied to judges, subdistricts, docket categories, or specialty assignments. The table below follows the required court-list format while using the actual Rapides Parish structure from the research.
| Court / Division | Type | Address | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9th JDC main court | Civil, criminal, juvenile, family, and general jurisdiction | 701 Murray Street, Suite 501, Alexandria, LA 71301 | 318-443-6893 |
| Division A | Civil docket, Sub-District 1, Judge Monique F. Rauls | 701 Murray Street, Alexandria, LA 71301 | 318-443-6893 |
| Division B | Criminal docket, Section 2, Judge Lowell C. "Chris" Hazel | 701 Murray Street, Alexandria, LA 71301 | 318-443-6893 |
| Division C | Civil docket and Adult Drug Court, Judge Mary L. Doggett | 701 Murray Street, Alexandria, LA 71301 | 318-443-6893 |
| Division D | Juvenile through Oct. 15, 2025; civil beginning Oct. 16, 2025, Judge Loren Lampert | 701 Murray Street, Alexandria, LA 71301 | 318-443-6893 |
| Division E | Juvenile court calendar and criminal Section 1, Judge Brian D. Cespiva | 701 Murray Street, Alexandria, LA 71301 | 318-443-6893 |
| Division F | Criminal docket, Judge David Michael Williams | 701 Murray Street, Alexandria, LA 71301 | 318-443-6893 |
| Division G | Criminal and court docket, Judge Greg Beard | 701 Murray Street, Alexandria, LA 71301 | 318-443-6893 |
| Hearing Office | Protective orders and child support, Hearing Officer Penny Tullos | First floor, 701 Murray Street, Alexandria, LA 71301 | 318-767-2834 / 318-767-2835 |
District Court vs Local Courts
The State Court Structure Map lists City Court, Mayor's Court, and Justice of the Peace Court as lower courts for Rapides Parish. Louisiana does not use the same county-court model as Texas. In Rapides Parish, the district court is the broad trial court, while lower local courts may handle municipal, small claim, eviction, ordinance, traffic, and bench-warrant matters depending on where the case began.
| District Court | City or Mayor's Court | Justice of the Peace Court | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main role | General jurisdiction trial court for Rapides Parish | Municipal, ordinance, local traffic, and city-level matters when assigned by law | Small claim, eviction, and ward-level matters depending on jurisdiction |
| Criminal records | Felony, misdemeanor, juvenile, traffic, bills of information, indictments, and minutes through the clerk | Municipal or city charges and bench warrants where the city court is the issuing court | Limited local matters; confirm with the ward JP or marshal |
| Family and successions | Marriage and family matters, adoptions, successions, and related district-court filings | Not the ordinary divorce or succession court in the research | Not the ordinary divorce or succession court in the research |
| Record access | Clerk of Court, RAPID E-Search, district dockets, and courthouse requests | Contact the issuing municipal or city court | Contact the justice of the peace or ward marshal for the ward |
Rapides Parish District Case Flow
Case movement depends on whether the matter is civil, criminal, juvenile, family, or succession. The Clerk of Court opens and maintains filings, the division docket sets hearings, and the judge or hearing officer issues orders, minutes, or judgments. Dockets are posted by division rather than through a single public case calendar, so a person checking a hearing date should use the correct division docket and confirm with the court or clerk if the case does not appear.
Criminal flow: Arrest › Magistrate / First Appearance › Indictment or Information › Arraignment › Pretrial › Trial › Sentencing › Appeal
Civil flow: Petition Filed › Answer › Discovery › Mediation › Trial › Judgment › Appeal
Succession flow: Petition Filed › Required notice or service › Appointment or possession request › Judgment or order › Certified copy or recording when needed
Civil, Family, and Criminal Divisions
Civil matters include private disputes over contracts or property rights, personal injury claims, appeals, successions, adoptions, and other filings assigned to the district court. The clerk's Civil Department opens and maintains civil suits, schedules matters, files pleadings, handles accounting, and indexes the record. Family cases such as divorce, custody, support, and protective orders may include restricted material when children or safety issues are involved.
Criminal matters include felony, misdemeanor, juvenile, and traffic filings in the 9th JDC. The Clerk Criminal Department works with law enforcement, prosecutors, and agencies. It issues bench warrants, subpoenas, notices of bond forfeiture, victim notification, and maintains criminal court minutes. Juvenile court calendar material is more restricted; the research notes the Division E warning that juvenile proceedings are closed to the public except as otherwise provided by law.
Judicial Circuit / District
Rapides Parish is in the 9th Judicial District Court for state trial matters. Appeals from Rapides Parish district court go to the Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit. The Third Circuit lists Rapides Parish among its central and southwest Louisiana territory, along with Acadia, Allen, Avoyelles, Beauregard, Calcasieu, Cameron, Catahoula, Concordia, Evangeline, Grant, Iberia, Jefferson Davis, Lafayette, LaSalle, Natchitoches, Sabine, St. Landry, St. Martin, Vernon, and Vermilion.
Federal cases arising in Rapides Parish usually use the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, Alexandria Division, rather than the 9th JDC. That split matters for record searches. A state divorce, succession, felony, civil suit, or juvenile matter should start with the state court and clerk. A federal civil case, federal criminal case, bankruptcy, or federal appeal uses the separate federal court system.
The 9th JDC contact page appears in the second successful district-court image.
That source confirms the 9th JDC contact point at the Rapides Parish Courthouse for district-court questions.
Magistrate and Lower Courts
Lower court access depends on the issuing authority. City courts, mayor's courts, and justice of the peace courts may hold municipal, ordinance, small claim, eviction, traffic, or bench-warrant matters. The traffic research gives a practical example: RPSO Bonds & Fines accepts RPSO and State Police tickets, but not tickets issued by a municipality. A municipal ticket must go to the municipality that issued it.
The same lower-court split can affect warrant and eviction questions. RPSO Civil Department handles service, civil warrants, protective orders, sheriff's sales, and other civil process, but it directs rental-property eviction assistance to the ward marshal or Justice of the Peace in the correct ward. For a Rapides Parish District Court record, use the district court and Clerk of Court. For a city or ward matter, contact the lower court that created the record.