200 Years of Louisiana Supreme Court History
2013 marked the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Louisiana Supreme Court. This tour features historic French Quarter sites, notable cases, and justices.
Access: Walking or biking
Distance: ~2 miles, ~45 minutes walking
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Government House: First Louisiana Supreme Court Location, 1813-1818
Government House, where the Louisiana Supreme Court met for approximately five years from March 1, 1813 until 1818, was located on the northeast corner of Levee (now Decatur) and Toulouse…
Batture Cases
The Louisiana Supreme Court decided one of the famous “Batture Cases” while located in the Government House. In Morgan v. Livingston, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that the owner of “rural” land…
The Presbytère: Home of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1822-1853
The Presbytère, originally named the Casa Curial (Ecclesiastical House), was designed to be the presbytery, or residence, of the priests serving St. Louis Cathedral next door. Located at 751 Chartres…
The Final Will of Presiding Judge Francois-Xavier Martin
In June 1847, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the olographic, or hand written, will of its deceased member Presiding Judge Francois-Xavier Martin, who served on the Court for 31 years until March…
The Cabildo: Home of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1853-1910
Regarded as Louisiana’s most important historical building, the Cabildo is located at 701 Chartres Street, the corner of Chartres and St. Peter Streets. Viewed from Jackson Square across Chartres…
The Myra Clark Gaines Cases: “The Most Remarkable in the Records of its Courts”
While located in the Cabildo, the Louisiana Supreme Court decided several cases in the Myra Clark Gaines litigation. Lasting for more than fifty years, the Myra Clark Gaines litigation is known as the…
Plessy v. Ferguson
On June 7, 1892, a 30-year-old African-American man named Homer Plessy attempted to board a segregated East Louisiana Railroad passenger train car at Press and Royal Streets in New Orleans.…
Former Home of Judge Francois-Xavier Martin
Judge Francois-Xavier Martin, a Louisiana Supreme Court judge for thirty-one years, from 1815 until his death in 1846, first acquired 915 Royal Street in 1818 for $7,500. At that time, a two-story…
The Old Federal Courthouse: Present Day Andrew Jackson Hotel
The Andrew Jackson French Quarter Hotel, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located at 919 Royal Street, the former site of the old United States courthouse where Major General…
Former Home the Morphys: a Louisiana Supreme Court Judge and his World Chess Champion Son
Directly across the street from the Louisiana Supreme Court building is 417 Royal Street, best known as the former home of Brennan’s Restaurant. In the mid-1800s, this building was the residence of…
Reviving the Vieux Carre: Home of the Louisiana Supreme Court, 1910-1958 & 2004-present
The Louisiana State Legislature established the Courthouse Commission in 1902 in response to the persistent need for a new courthouse for the Louisiana Supreme Court and the New Orleans Civil District…Tour curated by: Mary Ann Wegmann, The Law Library of Louisiana, University of New Orleans History Department; Edited by Jessica Anne Dauterive