Could Cameron Parish give justice of the peace courts jurisdiction over its overgrown-grass ordinance?

Plain-English summary

Cameron Parish’s police jury wanted to require owners to cut overgrown grass and obnoxious weeds and have local justices of the peace hear ordinance violations. In December 2015, the Attorney General concluded that the parish could not confer that jurisdiction by ordinance.

The AG acknowledged the police jury’s statutory authority to regulate grass and weeds. It then distinguished authority to enact a local rule from authority to expand a court’s jurisdiction. Justice of the peace courts had only the jurisdiction the legislature assigned; the AG found no provision allowing them to hear the proposed Cameron Parish weed cases.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could the parish enact a grass-and-weeds ordinance?

The opinion said La. R.S. 33:1236(21) allowed the police jury to pass ordinances compelling owners to cut grass and obnoxious weeds.

Could the ordinance send enforcement cases to a justice of the peace?

No. The AG said the legislature alone could set that court’s jurisdiction, and La. R.S. 13:2586 did not grant jurisdiction for this kind of ordinance case.

Did the opinion say justice courts could never hear local ordinance matters?

No. It noted that the legislature had conferred jurisdiction for a few specified local matters, but not the overgrown-grass violations proposed here.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion compared the parish’s grass-and-weeds authority with the limits on justice of the peace jurisdiction in La. R.S. 13:2586. It also cited restrictions based on the nature of civil proceedings and an earlier AG opinion declining justice-court jurisdiction over local animal-control cases.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/15-0153

Original opinion text

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DEPARTMENT Of JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
70804·9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

December 1, 2015
OPINION 15-0153

The Honorable Jennifer A. Jones
57 JUSTICES OF THE PEACE & CONSTABLES
District Attorney
La. R.S. ,3:2586
ss" Judicial District
The Cameren Parish Police Jury may not convey jurisdiction
Post Office Box 280
over violations of overgrown grass and obnoxious weeds to
Cameron, Louisiana 70631
justice of the peace court via parish ordinance. Only the
legislature may set forth the jurisdiction of a justice of the peace court.
Dear Ms. Jones:

You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General wherein you ask whether the Cameron Parish Police Jury ("Police Jury") may enact ordinances granting jurisdiction to justice of the peace courts to enforce and proceed over violations of property standard violations. Your request has been assigned to me for reply.

La. R.S. 13:1236(21) allows the Police Jury to pass ordinances to compel owners to cut grass and obnoxious weeds on their property. In accordance with this statute, the Police Jury would like to adopt ordinances requiring property owners to keep their property free of grass and weeds above a certain height. Additionally, they wish to delegate the enforcement of such ordinances to justice of the peace courts.

Justice of the peace courts are courts of limited jurisdiction, and their jurisdiction must be specifically conferred upon them by the legislature. Justice of the peace courts have concurrent jurisdiction with district court in civil cases where the amount in dispute does not exceed five thousand dollars.' However, jurisdiction is also limited by the nature of the proceeding. For example, La. C.C.P. art. 4913 states that justice of the peace courts cannot hear cases involving title to immovable property; cases in which the plaintiff asserts civil or political rights under the federal or state constitutions; or cases where the state, parish, or municipality is a defendant. La. R.S. 13:2586 also establishes the jurisdiction of justice of the peace courts and provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

A. Justices of the peace shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the district courts in all civil matters as set forth in Articles 4911 through 4913 of the Code of Civil Procedure.
B. They shall have no jurisdiction in succession or probate matters, or when a succession is a defendant, or when the state, parish, or

1 La. G.G.P. art 4911(A).

Page 2

OPINION 15-0153
Honorable Jennifer A. Jones
Page NO.2

municipality, or other political corporation, is a party defendant, or when the title to real estate is involved.
•••••
(C)(2) A justice of the peace shall have concurrent jurisdiction over the litter violations occurring anywhere in the parish in which the court is situated, which are prohibited by RS. 30:2531(8) or any ordinance of a parish governing body providing for litter abatement or control that provides that the trial for the violation of any such ordinance may be in a justice of the peace court. In addition, a constable may issue summons and serve subpoenas for such violations occurring anywhere in the parish in which his court is situated. However, the penalty that may be imposed by a justice of the peace in connection with a litter violation prohibited by RS. 30:2531(8) shall be limited to the range of fines allowed by that Subsection.
•••••
(4) Upon the favorable passage of a local ordinance by a parish governing authority, a justice of the peace in said parish shall have concurrent jurisdiction over the violations for removal, disposition or abandonment of objects, of a value not to exceed the civil jurisdictional limits of the justice of the peace court, that occur anywhere in the parish in which the court is situated, which are prohibited by RS. 34:843 or any ordinance of a parish governing body that provides for the violation of any such ordinance may be in a justice of the peace court. In addition, a constable may issue summons and serve subpoenas for such violations occurring anywhere in the parish in which his court is situated. However, the penalty that may be imposed by a justice of the peace in connection with a removal, disposition, or abandonment violation prohibited by R.S. 34:843 shall be limited to the range of fines and penalties allowed by that Section.
(5) A justice of the peace court in Caddo Parish shall have concurrent jurisdiction over property standards violations within its territorial jurisdiction, pursuant to local ordinance. In addition, a constable of a justice of the peace court in Caddo Parish may issue summons and serve subpoenas for such violations occurring anywhere within the territorial jurisdiction of the justice of the peace court.
•••••

It is clear that the legislature has only conferred upon justice of the peace courts jurisdiction to hear local or parish ordinances in very few instances." La. RS. 13:2586 provides no authority for a justice of the peace to hear violations involVing overgrown grass and obnoxious weeds in Cameron Parish. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the Police Jury may not enact an ordinance wherein the enforcement of its provisions are delegated to justice of the peace courts. See also La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 99-111, wherein we opined that justice of the peace courts may not hear suits pursuant

2 See La. R.S. 13:2586(C)(2), La. R.S. 13:2586(C)(4), and La. R.S. 13:2586(C)(5).

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OPINION 15-0153
Honorable Jennifer A. Jones
Page No.3

to local or parish animal control ordinance filed against owners by the Caddo Parish Animal Control Unit.

In conclusion, only the legislature has the authority to convey jurisdiction to justice of the peace courts. The legislature has not granted jurisdiction to justice of the peace courts in Cameron Parish to preside over ordinances which involve overgrown grass and obnoxious weeds. As such, the Police Jury does not have the authority to grant jurisdiction over property standard ordinances to justice of the peace courts.

We hope that this opinion has adequately addressed the legal issues you have raised. If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATIORNEY GENERAL

BY: ~ (!~
_
ErinC.Day ~
Assistant Attorney General

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