Louisiana paid almost $1.2 million toward a Florida judges conference in recent years

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - For years, Louisiana judges have traveled to Florida for an annual continuing education conference.

The Louisiana public has helped pick up the tab.

A Fox 8 investigation studied court travel records for the annual Louisiana Judicial College (LJC) / Louisiana State Bar Association (LSBA) Summer School conference at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort near Destin, Florida.

Fox 8 attempted to compile travel cost and reimbursement records for all of Louisiana courts at the district, appellate and state supreme court levels for the years 2022 through 2025.

Fox 8 did not obtain all the records for all the courts.

However, the records obtained reflect responses from more than 40 courts across the state.

Fox 8’s analysis of the records provided show the Louisiana public spent $1.18 million toward travel, food, lodging, registration and other expenses connected to the conference for those four years.

Because Fox 8 did not obtain all the court records, that sum could be an undercount.

The all-time financial cost to Louisiana for the conference isn’t clear, but the summer school has moved Louisiana money to Florida for decades.

The Louisiana Supreme Court released a statement confirming the conference has been held in the Destin area since 1988.

Attending in-person continuing education sessions isn’t optional for Louisiana judges.

The Louisiana Supreme Court requires judges to obtain 12.5 hours of continuing education a year, five of which must be obtained through an in-person LJC seminar.

The Louisiana Supreme Court does put caps on the conference’s nightly lodging rate and on annual judicial travel.

State Rep. Jerome Zeringue (R-Houma) has worked for years to put guardrails on Louisiana judicial travel spending.

“I find it hard to believe that there is no place in Louisiana that could not fulfill the needs that they have and specific requirements,” he said.

The LSBA and LJC coordinate on the Summer School’s venue.

The LJC Board of Governors includes judges but the majority of the judges in attendance don’t pick where the summer school is held.

However, state judges could decide to meet their requirements in Louisiana.

The Louisiana Supreme Court released a statement reading in part:

“The Louisiana Judicial College sponsors 10 annual seminars, and Summer School is the only program held outside Louisiana.

In this way, the Judicial College is similar to many Louisiana professional associations, including those for other public officers, which also find Sandestin to be the most productive location for hosting annual educational conferences.

We continually look for alternatives that offer the most practical and cost‑effective venues."

Metropolitan Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche is a long-time judicial spending watchdog.

“The fact that they offer conferences in the state of Louisiana indicates to me and acknowledges the reality that you can get your continuing legal education in Louisiana,” he said.

LSBA President Curtis Joseph declined an interview but released a statement saying the summer school offers judges an opportunity to earn all their continuing education hours in one conference.

His statement read in part:

“Sandestin is uniquely situated to meet all of our programmatic needs.”

He later continued:

“Because of meeting space and sleeping room requirements, almost all of the hotels in the state which can handle this program without using a convention center (which significantly adds to the cost) are located in New Orleans.

Those outside of the New Orleans area are casino hotels, which come with their own challenges. Due to the large number of attendees from the greater New Orleans area, the meeting room to sleeping room ratio does not work for hotels, making securing space in New Orleans extremely difficult.

In fact, only one New Orleans hotel responded to our most recent (request for proposals).

After review and consideration, it was clear that the costs associated with meeting there would be higher than those of meeting at Sandestin."

Zeringue disagreed with Joseph’s assessment.

“If you’re concerned about the room ratio for judges who live in the New Orleans area, all the more reason to have it in New Orleans because you don’t have to pay for room and board if they live close enough that they can drive to the meeting,” he said.

The Louisiana Supreme Court described Sandestin as “safe” and “centralized.”

Its statement read in part:

“Sandestin aligns with best practices established by the Louisiana Supreme Court Judicial Security & Safety Management team, including holding the event in a single venue.”

Zerginue said the legislature could try and put guardrails on the spending, but said the issue first lies with the judiciary.

“Look within themselves how they govern themselves and administer their obligation and responsibility to do due diligence and do what’s in the public’s best interest,” he said.

Joseph said Sandestin is expected to host the conference in 2027 and 2028.

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