Lawyer for Tangipahoa Parish (21st JDC)

Our office is at 229 North Vermont Street, Covington, Louisiana. We do not have an office in Tangipahoa Parish. For a Tangipahoa matter, Stephen “Curt” Aertker, Jr. drives across the parish line to the courthouse in Amite, and he meets clients in person in Covington or by video. You work with him directly from intake through judgment.

Tangipahoa, Livingston and St. Helena Parishes make up the Twenty-First Judicial District (La. R.S. 13:477(21)). The district court has ten judges (La. R.S. 13:621.21(A)). As of October 2026, the court also lists two hearing officers. It sits in each parish:

• Tangipahoa Parish: 110 North Bay Street, Amite, LA 70422.
• Livingston Parish: 20300 Government Blvd., Livingston, LA 70754.
• St. Helena Parish: 369 Sitman Street, Greensburg, LA 70441.

The court’s calendar generally rotates each division through felony jury weeks, civil jury and bench trial weeks, and hearing days; by statute some divisions hear only family or juvenile matters (La. R.S. 13:621.21). Hearing days cover traffic, misdemeanors, juvenile court, child support, family matters, civil motions and arraignments. The court’s website lists video conference links by division. Whether your hearing can be held by video is the court’s decision.

Appeals go to the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal (La. R.S. 13:312(1)(a)).

The City Court of Hammond covers all of Ward 7 of Tangipahoa Parish, which contains both Hammond and Ponchatoula. By statute it also holds sessions in Ponchatoula (La. R.S. 13:1952(10)). A city court tries only offenses within its territory that are not punishable at hard labor (La. R.S. 13:1894(A)). It also hears civil cases up to a dollar limit set by law (La. C.C.P. art. 4843) and evictions (La. C.C.P. art. 4844).

Felonies, divorces, custody cases and successions from Hammond and Ponchatoula go to the 21st JDC in Amite. Cases from Amite, Independence and Kentwood go there too. The ticket, summons or petition you received names the court. Start there.

The Tangipahoa Parish Clerk of Court keeps the records and accepts filings for the 21st JDC in Tangipahoa. As of October 2026, the Clerk lists two offices:

• Amite Office: 110 N. Bay Street, Suite 100, Amite, LA 70422, (985) 748-4146.
• Hammond Office: 318-A NW Railroad Avenue, Hammond, LA 70401, (985) 549-1638.

The Hammond office is a Clerk’s office. Do not assume your hearing is in Hammond; your notice gives the courtroom. The Clerk accepts e-filing through ClerkConnect. Its website offers online searches of civil, criminal, land and marriage records, and historical succession indexes.

The courthouse is closed on weekends and on the holidays the court lists, which include Mardi Gras Day, Good Friday and the Friday after Thanksgiving.

A divorce must be filed in a parish where either spouse is domiciled or in the parish of the last matrimonial domicile. That rule cannot be waived, and a judgment from the wrong parish is an absolute nullity (La. C.C.P. art. 3941). A couple who last lived together in Hammond can file in Tangipahoa. If one spouse has since moved to Mandeville, St. Tammany may also be proper.

Louisiana law lets district courts use hearing officers to hear custody, support and related matters and make written recommendations (La. R.S. 46:236.5(C)). The 21st JDC’s website routes child support and protective-order video hearings to its hearing officers and lets parties schedule mediation through their offices. The 21st JDC’s procedures are not the same as the 22nd JDC’s. Read the order you are served; it sets your deadlines.

If you receive a hearing officer conference order, expect it to ask for documents like these. The statewide form order lists them (La. Dist. Ct. R., Title IV, App. 23.0D):

• Your last two years of federal tax returns, with W-2s and 1099s.
• Your last four pay stubs.
• Health insurance cards and the cost of coverage for each person.
• Child care and private school costs, with receipts.

The statewide form order requires the exchange at least five days, exclusive of holidays, before the conference (La. Dist. Ct. R., Title IV, App. 23.0D). More on our family law page.

A succession is opened in the district court of the parish where the person was domiciled at death (La. C.C.P. art. 2811). For someone who lived in Hammond, Ponchatoula or Kentwood, that is the 21st JDC in Amite, even if the family now lives in St. Tammany. Some small successions do not need a court proceeding at all (La. C.C.P. art. 3431(A)). See successions and probate and our guide to Louisiana successions.

The district attorney for the 21st Judicial District decides whom to prosecute, when and how, for criminal cases in Tangipahoa, Livingston and St. Helena Parishes (La. C.Cr.P. art. 61). Felonies are tried in the 21st JDC. Misdemeanors in Ward 7 may be in the City Court of Hammond. The 21st JDC also runs an adult drug court, a juvenile drug court and a veterans treatment court. See criminal defense.

Interstates 12 and 55 cross Tangipahoa Parish near Hammond. A damages suit may be filed in the parish where the wrongful conduct occurred or where the damage was sustained (La. C.C.P. art. 74). So a crash near Hammond can often be filed in Tangipahoa even if you live in St. Tammany. Other venues may also be proper. For injuries on or after July 1, 2024, most injury claims prescribe two years from the day of the injury (La. C.C. art. 3493.1, added by Acts 2024, No. 423, eff. July 1, 2024). See personal injury and the two-year deadline explained.