Background
Antoine Edwards, Sr. sought supervisory review in litigation against the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections and others pending in the 19th Judicial District Court for East Baton Rouge Parish.
Edwards had filed a notice of appeal in the district court on April 7, 2026. Although the district court signed an order considering that notice, the order did not expressly grant an appeal, and the appeal apparently had not been prepared for lodging in the First Circuit.
The Court’s Holding
The Louisiana First Circuit granted Edwards’s supervisory writ application and issued an order directing the district court to sign an order of appeal.
The First Circuit further instructed the district court to proceed with lodging the appeal in the appellate court. The ruling addressed the procedural failure to formally grant and process the appeal; it did not decide the merits of Edwards’s underlying claims.
Key Takeaways
- An order merely considering a notice of appeal does not necessarily constitute an order granting the appeal.
- The district court must sign an appeal order and take the steps required to lodge the appellate record.
- Supervisory relief may be used to correct a district court’s failure to formally grant and process an appeal.
Why It Matters
The order underscores that filing a notice of appeal alone does not complete the appellate process. When a district court’s order fails to expressly grant the appeal and the record is not prepared for lodging, an appellate court may direct the district court to perform those procedural steps so review can proceed.