Evictions trap families in vicious cycles of housing insecurity - and in Louisiana, “justice of the peace” officials can get paid more by filing more evictions. NHLP's Hannah Adams spoke with @theguardian.com about how this conflict of interest endangers tenant rights.

“Tackling this issue is not glamorous work. But it’s important. After all, what does the legal system exist for other than to ensure that one citizen is not taking advantage of another?” Via: @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Lawmakers call to reform Louisiana’s ‘blatantly unconstitutional’ justice of the peace system

After Guardian investigation, both Republican and Democratic state lawmakers are considering legislation to address ‘flagrantly unethical’ court system

theguardian.com

Great to see Verite News republish our full investigation into evictions and justice of the peace courts in Louisiana:

Verite News@veritenews.org · 2d ago

‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace court system may violate tenants’… https://veritenews.org/2026/11/02/louisiana-justice-of-peace-courts-evictions-fees/

‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace court system may violate tenants’… https://veritenews.org/2026/11/02/louisiana-justice-of-peace-courts-evictions-fees/

‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges

Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace court system may violate tenants’ constitutional rights as eviction fees boost judges’ incomes.

veritenews.org

Great to see coverage of our investigation into evictions in Louisiana's justice of the peace courts on WWL in New Orleans last night: www.wwltv.com/article/news...

"Within a few minutes, the judge moved to the issue of a court fee, instructing the manager of her trailer park to pay up. He handed the justice a folded bundle of cash with a hundred-dollar bill on top, Watts said. “She stuck it in her robe … And then she was like: ‘You have 24 hours to move.’”

Thomas Frampton@tframpton.bsky.social · 6d ago

Who’s the highest paid judge in the United States? A: Probably a part-time Justice of the Peace in Louisiana. The “efficient” ones take home more than SCOTUS justices bc of how many eviction proceedings they oversee. (Extraordinary reporting; please read.) www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

NEW: A bi-partisan group of Louisiana lawmakers is calling for reform of the state’s “blatantly unconstitutional” Justice of the Peace system, following our investigation. These courts oversee thousands of evictions a year and make some justices millions in filing fee salary:

Lawmakers call to reform Louisiana’s ‘blatantly unconstitutional’ justice of the peace system

After Guardian investigation, both Republican and Democratic state lawmakers are considering legislation to address ‘flagrantly unethical’ court system

theguardian.com

Democrats have failed to win statewide office in Texas for 30 years. Before the midterms, @oliverlaughland.bsky.social and @tomsilverstone.bsky.social travel to San Antonio to follow James Talarico and Ken Paxton on the campaign trail:

Can James Talarico win against Elon Musk's millions in Texas? | Anywhere but Washington

YouTube video by The Guardian

youtu.be

Ken Paxton loyalists. No Kings protesters. Far right conspiracy theories. And a chat with James Talarico. We had a pretty wild time in Texas for the latest installment of Anywhere But Washington: youtu.be/YFLJPPkyHrg?...

Can James Talarico win against Elon Musk's millions in Texas? | Anywhere but Washington

YouTube video by The Guardian

youtu.be

A little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges. The Guardian found one justice who may be the highest-paid judge in the country. His court took in nearly $1m last year, and he took home more than $400k. Somehow, it’s all legal.

We investigated the judges making millions from evictions in Louisiana. It was so great to talk about all our reporting on the Guardian's Stateside podcast with Kai Wright and @wcraft.bsky.social You can watch it on YouTube here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ck_3...

We investigated the judges making big money from evictions

YouTube video by Stateside Podcast

youtube.com

I'm on the latest episode of Statewide with Kai and Carter discussing @us.theguardian.com's investigation of Louisiana Justice of the Peace courts. Come here @oliverlaughland.bsky.social and I discuss the origins of the system and the impact it has on tenants

Louisiana’s 'blatantly unconstitutional' eviction system – Stateside with Kai and Carter

A nine-month Guardian investigation has revealed that when a landlord evicts someone in Louisiana, they can choose to file the eviction in a venue where a portion of the court fee goes directly into t...

theguardian.com

Want to hear more from @oliverlaughland.bsky.social, Southern Bureau Chief at @theguardian.com? Read the full conversation on our Substack: https://qwotedmedia.substack.com/p/the-outsider-advantage-how-a-brit

I have spent a lot of time reporting on eviction court, but this detail in @theguardian.com's investigation of Louisiana's justice of the peace courts is truly jaw-dropping. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

In some parts of Louisiana, these part-time elected officials have found a way to make their cases extraordinarily profitable, a new investigation by The Guardian revealed. Here’s columnist Faimon Roberts’ take. bit.ly/4soXAwD

Faimon Roberts: Investigation’s findings should prompt change to LA's Justice of the Peace system

In some parts of Louisiana, these part-time elected officials have found a way to make their cases extraordinarily profitable, a new investigation by The Guardian revealed. Here’s columnist Faimon Roberts’ take.

bit.ly

“Removing the link between filing fees and income is a common-sense move. And there should be greater oversight and a low-cost appeal option for those who believe they’ve been wronged in one of these courts.” Great to see @nolanews.bsky.social publish an editorial on our reporting:

Faimon Roberts: Investigation’s findings should prompt change to LA's Justice of the Peace system

In some parts of Louisiana, these part-time elected officials have found a way to make their cases extraordinarily profitable, a new investigation by The Guardian revealed. Here’s columnist Faimon Rob...

nola.com

“Having a court system that is funded by filing fees is a really bad idea. It creates perverse incentives. It is an old system that needs to be revised in the interest of justice.” Via: @us.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Key findings from the Guardian’s investigation of Louisiana’s justice of the peace courts

The system allows judges to boost their modest salaries, with one judge earning more than $400,000 in 2025

theguardian.com

A small detail from our investigation into Louisiana's Justice of the Peace courts. One Justice, who personally earned close to $300,000 in filing fee revenue last year - much of it from evictions - also offered our photographer a cash gift as they left a shoot.

Adam Sawyer@adamjst.bsky.social · 2w ago

Buried deep in this reporting on the Justice of the Peace courts in Louisiana is this little anecdote. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Theres a million lil details in our investigation on the Louisiana justice of the peace courts, but this one sticks with me. One court, covering 30k renter households, has the 3rd highest eviction rate in the country. And this makes some people a lot of money: www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

In Alabama's 2nd congressional district, heavily redistricted post-Callais decision, MAGA candidate Rhett Marques ran away from our questions on gerrymandering We met residents fighting for access to basic sanitation & spent time with Democratic incumbent Shomari Figures fighting to hold his seat:

How Alabama's Republicans are disenfranchising Black voters | Anywhere but Washington

YouTube video by The Guardian

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. @theguardian.com has published a nine-month investigation of a Louisiana's "justice of the peace courts," whose judges have a financial incentive to order tenants' evictions, with or without adequate evidence. @oliverlaughland.bsky.social @wcraft.bsky.social @annie-flanagan.bsky.social

‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges

Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace court system may violate tenants’ constitutional rights as eviction fees boost judges’ incomes

theguardian.com

3,500 handwritten financial disclosure forms. 11,000 pages of manually scanned eviction records. A lot of verification and data crunching. My colleague @wcraft.bsky.social has written a detailed methodology unpacking how we investigated Louisiana's justice of the peace courts:

How the Guardian reported on Louisiana’s justice of the peace courts

Reporters scanned more than 11,000 pages and processed thousands of handwritten and often incomplete records

theguardian.com

Lesley Wilson faced eviction after calling the police on her abusive partner. The hearing was held in an unusual venue: the back room of a public library. Her former partner was allowed to testify against her over the phone. Our investigation into Louisiana's 'feudal' eviction courts continues:

‘Sham tribunal’: one family’s battle with Louisiana’s ‘feudal’ eviction courts

In rural Louisiana, eviction hearings are held at kitchen tables and other unorthodox venues – and many justices have little legal training

theguardian.com

The natural follow-up to the question "how much are these judges making?" is "How many evictions are they handling?" In the highest volume court, the answer is a lot.

Will Craft@wcraft.bsky.social · 2w ago

Justice of the peace courts in Louisiana allow judges to directly profit from the volume of evictions they handle. We figured out how much judges across the state were making and how many evictions the highest paid judge handled over a year. I want to talk about how we figured this out

My excellent colleague Will explains how we conducted two in-depth data analyses of this system, which relies on handwritten or printed documents. Louisiana’s justice of the peace courts are not courts of record. We spent weeks in one courtroom manually scanning 11,000 pages of eviction records:

Will Craft@wcraft.bsky.social · 2w ago

Justice of the peace courts in Louisiana allow judges to directly profit from the volume of evictions they handle. We figured out how much judges across the state were making and how many evictions the highest paid judge handled over a year. I want to talk about how we figured this out

Extraordinary investigation by @oliverlaughland.bsky.social and @wcraft.bsky.social, looking at the arcane justice of the peace system in Louisiana, where justices earn a fee for every eviction they process. One justice processed 86 evictions in 36 minutes. All but one resulted in eviction

‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges

Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace court system may violate tenants’ constitutional rights as eviction fees boost judges’ incomes

theguardian.com

“Without question, the Louisiana justice of the peace system has failed its citizens, yet no one seems to be taking action.” Via: @us.theguardian.com by @oliverlaughland.bsky.social, Will Craft and @annie-flanagan.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges

Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace court system may violate tenants’ constitutional rights as eviction fees boost judges’ incomes

theguardian.com

NEW: I have spent 9 months examining Louisiana's unique Justice of the Peace system, which hands down thousands of evictions a year and pays its judges almost entirely through filing fees they collect One earned over $400,000 last year Experts say the system is "blatantly unconstitutional"

‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges

Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace court system may violate tenants’ constitutional rights as eviction fees boost judges’ incomes

theguardian.com

"This system is blatantly unconstitutional." Brilliant deep dive from @oliverlaughland.bsky.social into Louisiana’s justice of the peace courts, which may be violating tenants constitutional rights, with judges pulling in millions in take-home fees on evictions. www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges

Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace court system may violate tenants’ constitutional rights as eviction fees boost judges’ incomes

theguardian.com

Did you know that likely highest paid judge in the US oversees court two days a week processing more than a hundred evictions a day? My colleague @oliverlaughland.bsky.social and I investigated a little known court system in Louisiana www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

‘Big business’: little-known court system in Louisiana churns out thousands of evictions – and millions in fees for judges

Guardian investigation: Louisiana’s justice of the peace courts may violate tenants’ constitutional rights as eviction fees boost judges’ incomes

theguardian.com