Must a Louisiana clerk of court buy a judge a computer or print case files after court records become electronic?

Plain-English summary

Ouachita Parish's clerk of court had moved to electronic records. A district judge asked the clerk to supply a computer for viewing the records or to pull paper copies. The attorney general concluded that, where the electronic record is the official court record, the clerk is required to keep court records accessible but is not required to buy the judge a computer or provide a physical copy.

The opinion distinguishes equipment for accepting electronic filings from equipment for reviewing a case file at the bench. La. C.C.P. art. 253 allows a clerk to procure equipment needed to accommodate electronic filings from the clerk's salary fund, but the office said that provision does not address equipment for judicial review. It also found no requirement in the statutes it considered for the clerk to spend the clerk's funds on a judge's computer.

The office noted a possible source of equipment for the Fourth Judicial District: its judges, sitting en banc, may use their judicial expense fund under La. R.S. 13:996.42 to buy or maintain equipment consistent with the court's efficient operation. That is an option for the judges, rather than a purchase obligation imposed on the clerk.

What this means for you

Clerks of court using electronic files

The opinion says that electronic filing makes the electronic record the official one under the civil and criminal procedure provisions it cites. A clerk must preserve records and make suit records available to court personnel and the public, but need not produce a judge's physical copy or fund the judge's viewing computer on these facts.

Judges and court administrators

For the Fourth Judicial District, the opinion identifies the judicial expense fund as a source the judges may choose to use for computers or laptops at the bench. It does not decide whether another body must supply a particular judge's device.

Parish governing bodies

The opinion discusses La. R.S. 33:4713 and court decisions on parish funding of court facilities and expenses. It notes that whether particular expenses are necessary and reasonable can involve the police jury's discretion. Its answer to the clerk's question does not transfer a specific computer bill to the parish.

Common questions

Q: Does a clerk of court have to print a case file for a judge who prefers paper?
A: The attorney general said no when the electronic file is the official record. The clerk still has a duty to keep the records available and accessible.

Q: Must the clerk buy a computer for a judge to read electronic filings?
A: No. The opinion found no legal authority requiring the clerk to spend the clerk's funds for that purpose, even though the clerk had provided software access and courtroom connections.

Q: Can judges use a court fund to buy bench computers?
A: In the Fourth Judicial District, the opinion says judges sitting en banc may use the judicial expense fund for computers or laptops consistent with the court's efficient operation.

Q: Does the electronic filing statute let the clerk use salary-fund money to buy equipment?
A: Yes, for equipment needed to accommodate electronic filings. The opinion says that provision does not address equipment for a judge to review the resulting electronic record.

Background and statutory framework

The Ouachita Parish clerk said her office stopped creating paper records and had given judges and court staff free access to its software. She had budgeted courtroom computers for minute clerks and described internet connections at the judges' benches, but no computers there. The request asked who must bear the cost of judicial access once the electronic record is official.

La. C.C.P. art. 253 and La. C.Cr.P. art. 14.1 establish the electronic record as the official record in the circumstances discussed. La. R.S. 33:4713 addresses parish provision of court facilities and equipment for clerks; La. R.S. 13:784 lets a clerk obtain needed equipment from the police jury or buy equipment for the clerk's own office from a salary-fund surplus. The opinion read neither as requiring the clerk to buy a computer for a judge.

The opinion also cited McCain v. Grant Parish Police Jury on a parish's funding of needed court services and Reed v. Washington Parish Police Jury for the reasonableness limit on mandated expenses. It did not determine that the particular bench computer was a necessary and reasonable parish expense.

Citations and references

• La. C.C.P. art. 253 (electronic civil record and filing equipment)
• La. C.Cr.P. art. 14.1 (electronic criminal record)
• La. R.S. 33:4713 (parish court facilities)
• La. R.S. 13:784 (clerk office equipment)
• La. R.S. 13:996.42 (Fourth Judicial District expense fund)
• McCain v. Grant Parish Police Jury, 440 So.2d 1369 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1983)
• Reed v. Washington Parish Police Jury, 518 So.2d 1044 (La. 1988)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/25-0037

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE, LA
70804-9005

Liz MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL
June 17, 2025
OPINION 25-0037

  The Honorable Dana Benson                                    10 -CLERKS OF COURT      Compensation & Fees;

-

         .      .                                              Powers & Duties; General

Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court
56—JUDGES
301 S. Grand St., Rm. 104
88—POLICE JURIES—In General
Monroe, LA 71 201 La. COP. art. 251 La. C.C.P. art. 253
La. C.Cr.P. art. 14.1
La. R.S. 13:784
La. R.S. 33:4713
La. R.S. 13:996.42

Where the official court record is the electronic record, a clerk ofcourt is not required to expend his or her funds to provide a judge with a computer in order to review the
Dear Ms. Benson: electronic record, nor is a clerk of court required to
provide a judge with a physical copy of the record.

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether you are required to expend funds from your budget to provide a judge in your district with a computer to view court records, which are now electronic. Your opinion request advises that a judge has stated on the record that you “shall provide him with a computer to view said records or pull the records.”
in your opinion request, you advise that your office has taken certain steps in light of the electronic filing system that will become mandatory beginning January 1 2026, pursuant ,

to La. C.C.P. art. 253 and La. C.Cr.P. art. 141. Specifically, you state that on November 3, 2024, you notified the Chief Judge and others that the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court’s office would be paperless beginning January 1 2025. You further state that, as of that ,

date, your office became paperless and no longer creates physical records. You also state that in February 2025, you communicated that your office would no longer be providing a paper record as of March 1 2025, as the office was paperless.
,

Your opinion request further advises that you allocated funds in your budget to hardwire computers in each courtroom for your Minute Clerks, and that the District Attorney’s office used its own funds to do the same. You also advise that your office provided its software program free of charge to all of the judges, as well as their assistants, hearing officers, and law clerks, and that internet drops are in place at each judge’s bench. In speaking with you, you advised that computers have not been provided for the benches.

Question: Is the Ouachita Parish Clerk of Court, which has implemented an electronic filing system, obligated to either expend her funds to provide a judge with a computer to view the electronic records or provide a judge with a physical copy of the court record?

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OPINION 25-0037
Hon. Dana Benson
Page 2

Conclusion: It is the opinion ofthis office that, where the official court record is the electronic record, a clerk of court is not required to expend his or her funds to provide a judge with a computer in order to review the electronic record, nor is a clerk of court required to provide a judge with a physical copy of the record.

Pursuant to both the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure and the Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure, documents may be filed electronically in accordance with a system established by the clerk of court. See La. C.C.P. art. 253(A)-(B)(1); and La. C.Cr.P. art. 14.1(A). Further, La. C.C.P. art. 253 states, “[t]he official record shall be the electronic record.” La. C.C.P. art. 253(D) (emphasis added). Similarly, La. C.Cr.P. art. 14.1 states that, in a court that accepts electronic filings, “the official record shall be the electronic record.” La. CCr.P. art. 14.1(A)(emphasis added). Louisiana Revised Statute I :3 states that the word “shall” is mandatory. Thus, when a clerk of court has established an electronic filing system, the electronic record is the official record.

This office has previously observed that a clerk of court “is required to maintain suit records and make them available and accessible to court personnel and the general public.” See La. Atty. Gen. Op. 15-0010 (citing La. C.C.P. art. 251, which provides, in pertinent part: “The clerk of court is the legal custodian of all of its records and is responsible for their safekeeping and preservation.”). Our office further noted that maintaining a courthouse requires that court records be accessible and available, which can be accomplished by electronic storage. Id.

Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that, where the official record is the electronic record, a clerk ofcourt is not required to provide ajudge with a physical copy ofthe record. While a clerk of court must make suit records available and accessible to court personnel, currently there are no legal authorities requiring a clerk of court to expend funds to provide a judge with a computer for this purpose.

Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure article 253 provides, “[t]he clerk of court may procure equipment, services, and supplies necessary to accommodate electronic filings out of the clerk’s salary fund.” La. C.C.P. art. 253(H)(emphasis added). However, this article does not address the procurement of equipment to accommodate review of the electronic record. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure article 14.1 is silent as to the procurement of equipment for any purpose.

Louisiana Revised Statute 33:4713 provides, in pertinent part:

A. Each parish shall provide and bear the expense of a suitable building and requisite furniture for the sitting of the district and circuit courts and such offices, furniture, and equipment as may be needed by the clerks and recorders of the parish for the proper conduct of their offices and shall provide such other offices as may be needed by the sheriffs of these courts and by the tax collectors and assessors of the parish and shall provide the necessary heat and illumination therefor.

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OPINION 25-0037
Hon. Dana Benson
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La. R.S. 33:4713 (emphasis added). This office has previously explained that, pursuant to this statute, the police jury is mandated to furnish a building and furniture for the court and to furnish “necessary” furniture and equipment for the clerk of court.1 See La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 97-262. In addition, this office has opined that the equipment contemplated by La. R.S. 33:4713 includes computers. See La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 88-246.

Although the plain language of La. R.S. 33:4713 does not obligate the police jury to provide equipment for the court or its judges, at least one appellate court has held that a police jury must fund services and supplies required by a court to operate, including expenses for reference materials and maintenance of equipment. See McCain v. Grant Parish Police Jury, 440 So.2d 1369 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1983). However, whether such expenses are necessary and reasonable is a matter of the police jury’s discretion. See Jefferson v. Ouachita Par. Police Jury, 56-096 La. App. 2 Cir. 1 2/1 8/24), So.3d ---

2024 WL 51 50528, writ denied, 25-001 31 (La. 4/8/25) (holding the Fourth Judicial District Court and its Chief Judge failed to state a cause of action for writ of mandamus to compel the Police Jury to fund all “necessary and reasonable expenses ofthe Fourth JDC.” Police Jury is statutorily mandated to fund portions of the Fourth JDC’s budget, but demand for all expenses involves the Police Jury’s discretion). Regardless, La. R.S. 33:4713 does not obligate a clerk of court to expend his or her funds to provide equipment.

Under La. R.S. I 3:784, a clerk of court may obtain equipment either from the police jury or by purchase out of the surplus in the clerk’s salary fund:

A. Upon the request of the clerk, the police jury shall provide him with all necessary office furniture, equipment, and record books.

B. Out of any surplus in his salary fund, each of the clerks of the district courts may purchase office furniture, equipment, record books, and supplies as may be needed for the proper conduct of his office and may expend funds for renovation of his office, all in accordance with the public bid law of the state.

Again, this statute does not require a clerk of court to expend funds to purchase equipment for a district court.

Considering the foregoing, it is the opinion of this office that a clerk of court is not required to expend funds to provide a judge with a computer. We note that La. R.S. 13:996.42, entitled “Judicial expense fund for Fourth Judicial District,” provides, in pertinent part:

1 A police jury’s statutory duty to fund mandated expenses is limited by the standard of reasonableness set forth in Reed v. Washington Parish Police Jury, 518 So.2d 1044 (La. 1988). While the trier of fact must make the determination of what is reasonable on a case-by-case basis, the Louisiana Supreme Court in Reed enunciated the following two-part test: (1) the expense request must be legitimate and related to the function of the office, and (2) the expense request must be qualitatively reasonable.

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OPINION 25-0037
Hon. Dana Benson
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In like manner, the judges, en banc, may utilize the monies in the judicial expense fundto pay all or any part of the cost of establishing or maintaining a law library for the court, or for buying or maintaining any type of equipment, supplies, or other items consistent with or germane to the efficient operation of the court.

La. R.S. 13:996.42 (emphasis added). Thus, the judges, sitting en banc, may opt to utilize the judicial expense fund for the Fourth Judicial District to purchase computers or laptops for use at the bench.

We trust that this opinion of the Attorney General adequately responds to your inquiry. However, if our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:

Jen rWiseMorou
Assi tantAttorneyG neral

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