St. Martin Parish District Court Overview
The Sixteenth Judicial District Court is the primary trial court for St. Martin Parish. It also serves Iberia and St. Mary Parishes, so the local court system is tri-parish rather than a single-parish court. The court's official site states that the 16th JDC has original jurisdiction over civil and criminal matters. It has eight elected judges in Divisions A through H, with two judges elected from Section One and six from Section Two.
The district court handles more than one kind of record. Civil, felony, misdemeanor, family, juvenile, succession, protective-order, and some traffic matters may route through the 16th JDC. The Clerk of Court is the filing and record custodian for St. Martin Parish district-court files. Online records are separate from the court's public calendar and from any lower-court docket kept by city, town, mayor's, municipal, or justice of the peace courts.
The manifest image for the 16th JDC St. Martin family court page shows the local family-court source used for district-court procedure details.
That source is especially useful because it explains local hearing officer procedure for divorce, custody, support, and related family filings.
St. Martin Parish District Court Location
The St. Martin Parish courthouse is at 415 South Main Street, St. Martinville, LA 70582, with the court and clerk phone listed as 337-394-2210. The Clerk of Court office is in the Courthouse Annex behind the historic courthouse at 415 St. Martin Street. The Clerk directory lists the mailing address as P.O. Box 308, St. Martinville, LA 70582, and office hours as Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
District-court administration also has a tri-parish office in New Iberia. The 16th JDC Court Administration page lists Court Administrator Angela Moore at 300 Iberia Street, Suite 350, New Iberia, LA 70560, phone 337-369-4410 option 3, and email CourtAdmin@16jdc.org. Case filings and record copies for St. Martin Parish still route through the St. Martin Parish Clerk unless the question is administrative rather than record-specific.
St. Martin Family Court
415 S. Main St.
St. Martinville, LA 70582
337-394-6133 ext. 10
StMartinFC@16jdc.org
Court Administration
300 Iberia Street, Suite 350
New Iberia, LA 70560
337-369-4410 option 3
CourtAdmin@16jdc.org
St. Martin Parish District Court Divisions
The research file located detailed St. Martin contact rows for the district court overall, Division A, Division G, the family hearing officer, court administration, and the Clerk of Court. The local-rule appendix confirms eight divisions lettered A through H, but not every division has a separate St. Martin address in the inspected sources. Use the table as a court-routing guide, then confirm division-specific scheduling with the court or Clerk.
| Court or Office | Type | Address or Contact | Phone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16th Judicial District Court | District Court | 415 S. Main St., St. Martinville, LA 70582 | 337-394-2210 |
| Division A, Anthony Thibodeaux | District Judge | P.O. Box 367, 415 South Main Street, Suite 214, St. Martinville, LA 70582 | 337-394-6133 ext. 2603 |
| Division G, Curtis Sigur | District Judge | 415 South Main Street, P.O. Box 626, St. Martinville, LA 70582 | 337-394-2216 ext. 2606 |
| St. Martin Family Court Hearing Officer | Family Court | 415 S. Main St., St. Martinville, LA 70582 | 337-394-6133 ext. 10 |
| St. Martin Parish Clerk of Court | Records and Filing | 415 St. Martin Street, P.O. Box 308, St. Martinville, LA 70582 | 337-394-2210 |
District Court vs Lower Courts
Not every St. Martin Parish case belongs in District Court. Louisiana uses lower courts for some local matters. The research map lists city courts, mayor's courts, justice of the peace courts, and municipal courts as lower-court categories. This is more than a technical detail. The Clerk's criminal background-check page says its St. Martin Parish 16th JDC background checks do not include Breaux Bridge City Court, St. Martinville City Court, or Henderson Town Court matters.
| Record Route | Likely Matters | Search Caution |
|---|---|---|
| District Court | Felony, major civil, family, juvenile, succession, protective orders | Search Clerk/Cott eSearch or contact the Clerk for copies. |
| City or town court | Local traffic, ordinance, lower-level cases, bench warrants | May not appear in 16th JDC background checks. |
| Justice of the peace or mayor's court | Small local civil or municipal matters | Confirm the venue from the citation, notice, or summons. |
| Federal court | Federal criminal, federal civil, bankruptcy, removed cases | Use PACER or the Western District, not the parish Clerk. |
St. Martin Parish Case Flow
District court records grow as a case moves. A civil case starts with a petition and filing, then service, answers, motions, hearings, orders, and judgment. A criminal case may begin with arrest or complaint activity, but the district-court file focuses on charges as filed, arraignment, motions, pleas, trial settings, disposition, and sentencing. Family cases often add hearing officer conferences before a judge signs or adopts an order.
Typical flow: Filing or charge › Clerk case entry › division or hearing assignment › motions and hearings › minutes and orders › disposition or judgment › certified copy or appeal route.
The 16th JDC court administration page is another manifest source for district-court organization.
Administration contacts help with court-system routing, while record copies and file searches remain tied to the Clerk's custodian role.
St. Martin Parish Family Court
The St. Martin family court hearing officer process is unusually detailed in the official source. Family court covers divorce, custody, visitation, child support, interim and final spousal support, community property, exclusive use of property, injunctions, contempt related to family issues, domestic-violence litigation, criminal non-support, and other family issues. After pleadings are filed, the hearing officer conference is scheduled, with a stated goal of 21 days from filing when possible.
Parties must provide required information five days before the conference. The hearing officer tries to settle issues. Agreements can become consent judgments. Unresolved issues result in findings and recommendations. Objections must be specific, and general objections are not allowed. The page also says documents should be emailed to the hearing officer office and not faxed. Children and non-attorney support persons are excluded unless procedure allows otherwise.
St. Martin Parish Court Rules
The Louisiana Supreme Court local-rule appendix for the 16th JDC confirms several modern procedures. Warrantnow and CloudGavel are designated systems for electronic warrant applications. Judges may electronically sign orders, notices, official court documents, judgments, and other writings in civil or criminal matters when the electronic signature functions as the legal equivalent of a handwritten signature. The rules also allow audio-visual arraignment and plea appearances unless defense counsel requests open court.
The manifest includes the 16th JDC interpreter services page for language-service routing.
Interpreter and accommodation routing should be checked before a hearing because court access needs are handled through official court procedures.
St. Martin Parish Court Partners
District court cases often involve the District Attorney or public defender. The 16th Judicial District Attorney office directory lists the St. Martin Parish District Attorney's Office at 415 South Main Street, 1st Floor, St. Martinville, LA 70582, with phone 337-394-2220. The DA directory lists criminal prosecution and traffic, child support, victim-witness assistance, pretrial diversion, probation, adult drug court, worthless checks, and family service contacts.
The Louisiana Office of the State Public Defender District 16 page identifies District Defender Maggie S. LeBlanc and gives the St. Martin Parish Office at 106 W. Berard Street, St. Martinville, LA 70582, phone 337-394-1446. That route is for court-appointed criminal-defense matters, not private legal advice. Record copies still come from the Clerk.
The manifest image for the DA office directory shows the prosecution contact source.
Those prosecution contacts are useful when a criminal or traffic matter has moved beyond the citation or arrest stage and into the court process.
The manifest also includes the District 16 public defender page.
Public defender eligibility and representation questions should go to that official office, while docket and document questions should go to the court or Clerk.