Chief Judge - Duty Judge Schedule

Chief Judge

The 40th JDC rotates its chief judgeship annually according to the following rotation:

2024 - Division C, Judge J. Sterling Snowdy

2025 - Division B, Judge Nghana Lewis

2023 - Division A, Judge Vercell Fiffie

Duty Judge

There is established in the 40th JDC the position of Duty Judge who shall:

1. Serve as Committing Magistrate for all criminal matters, including the following responsibilities:

a. All weekend and holiday emergencies;
b. Fixing bail;
c. Signing property bond orders;
d. Signing search and arrest warrants;
e. Detaining juveniles and holding continued custody hearings;
f. Appointing counsel for those persons in custody
g. All other matters relating to persons in custody, except when the case has been allotted to another judge who is available

2. Handle all civil matters not referable to the allotted judge, including:

a. Default judgments, if the allotted judge is unavailable;
b. Actions such as civil commitments, injunctions, protective orders, habeas corpus or other summary proceedings in emergency cases when the judge to whom the matter is allotted is unavailable or cannot be located after diligent effort.

3. Provide for his/her replacement during times of his/her unavailability.

The three judges of the 40th JDC generally rotate duty on a monthly basis, but there are occasional changes to this schedule.

Division C, Judge J. Sterling Snowdy - January, April, July, & October

Division B, Judge Nghana Lewis - February, May, August, & November

Division A, Judge Vercell Fiffie - March, June, September, & December

The court schedule generally provides for the following in each division:

  • Felony jury trial week

  • Civil jury trial/bench trial week

  • Hearings of traffic court, misdemeanors, juvenile court, felony motions, child support cases, drug court matters, civil motions, civil pre-trials, felony pre-trials, family matters and arraignments.

The Courthouse is open on weekdays from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. It is closed on weekends and holidays. Holidays are listed below. See Court News for specific dates, additional closings and emergency closings.

  • New Years Day

  • Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday

  • Lundi Gras Day

  • Mardi Gras Day

  • President’s Day

  • Good Friday

  • Memorial Day

  • Independence Day

  • Labor Day

  • Juneteeth

  • All Saints Day

  • General Election Day

  • Veterans Day

  • Thanksgiving Day

  • Friday after Thanksgiving

  • Christmas Eve

  • Christmas Day

  • New Years Eve