In the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

, the typical governing body of the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

is called the Police Jury ( French: ''le Jury de Police''). Not every parish is governed by a Police Jury, but 38 of the 64 parishes use this system. The Police Jury is the legislative and executive government of the parish, and is elected by the voters. Its members are called ''Jurors'', and together they elect a ''President'' as their chairman. The President presides over the Police Jury and serves as the titular head of the parish government. The Police Jury is akin to the commissions or

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

s that govern

counties A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in most other states. Police juries range in size, depending on the population of the parish, from three to fifteen. Many parishes are quite rural and therefore have small police juries. Wide latitude is given to organize and administer the police jury's business. Like other

elections in Louisiana Since 1977 state elections in Louisiana have used a Louisiana primary, unique system similar to the Two-round system, majority-runoff system used in some other jurisdictions, which in Louisiana has become known as a “jungle” primary or Louisi ...

, parish elections typically occur in odd-numbered years, and use the

open primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

system.

Origins of the Police Jury

When the United States first organized present-day Louisiana as the

Territory of Orleans The Territory of Orleans or Orleans Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from October 1, 1804, until April 30, 1812, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Louisiana. History In 1804, ...

in 1804, the territory was divided into 12 counties. This system proved unsatisfactory, and by 1807, the territory reorganized its civil government roughly according to

Catholic parish In the Catholic Church, a parish ( la, parochia) is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: ''parochus''), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is t ...

es in the region. Each parish had a ''parish judge'' and a ''

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

'', both appointed. Voters also elected a ''police jury'', which was responsible for law and order and other administration. The office of

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

was added in 1810. Louisiana was

admitted to the Union ''Admitted'' is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language docudrama film directed by Chandigarh-based director Ojaswwee Sharma. The film is about Dhananjay Chauhan, the first transgender student at Panjab University. The role of Dhananjay Chauhan has been p ...

in 1812, and kept the parish system. Later on, parishes were divided into wards. The last vestiges of the territorial county system were removed in 1845. The parish system continued to evolve until the

Louisiana Constitution The Louisiana Constitution is legally named the Constitution of the State of Louisiana and commonly called the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, and the Constitution of 1974. The constitution is the cornerstone of the law of Louisiana ensuring the ...

of 1975, which established the modern local government system as Louisianans know it today.

Parishes using the Police Jury system

Other forms of parish government

Twenty-six Louisiana parishes are governed by

home rule Home rule is government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance wit ...

charters that allow them to pick a different form of government. These include: council-president, council-manager, and consolidated parish/city.

Council-President

Under this system, voters typically elect an executive president and a legislative council separately.

Council-Manager

In this system, the voters elect a parish council, which hires a professional manager to run the day-to-day government. *

Caddo Parish Caddo Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de Caddo'') is a parish located in the northwest corner of the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 237,848. The parish seat is Shreveport, which developed a ...

Consolidated Parish/City

In this system, the parish government has been consolidated with the local city government. Voters typically elect a city council and a mayor. * Orleans Parish & New Orleans *

East Baton Rouge Parish East Baton Rouge Parish (french: Paroisse de Bâton Rouge Est) is the most populous List of parishes in Louisiana, parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 U.S. census, its population was 440,171, and 456,781 ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

Lafayette Parish Lafayette Parish (french: Paroisse de Lafayette) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. According to the 2020 U.S. census, the parish had a population of 241,753, up from 221,578 at the 2010 United States census. The parish seat is ...

Lafayette Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

Terrebonne Parish Terrebonne Parish ( ; French: ''Paroisse de Terrebonne'') is a parish located in the southern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 111,860, and 110,461 in 2019. In 2020, its population declined to 109,58 ...

& Houma

References

{{reflist County governing bodies in the United States fr:Paroisses de l'État de Louisiane