Essay by Jim Letten
It is worth noting that the Eastern District of Louisiana is a federal judicial district that encompasses most of the southeast corner of the distinctively shaped state, occupying what most people would refer to as the “toe of the boot” as seen on maps. Consisting of thirteen parishes, the Eastern District is bordered to the north and east by the state of Mississippi; it consists of (rapidly eroding) wetlands that give way to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico in the southeast and south; it is adjacent to low-lying coastal parishes to the southwest; and it abuts the Mississippi River and the Interstate 10 route to relatively nearby Baton Rouge on the northwest. New Orleans, which is coterminous with Orleans Parish, remains the principal city and major population center in the Eastern District. Jefferson Parish sits to the west-southwest of New Orleans, where it stretches to the Gulf of Mexico. Two parishes, St. Bernard and Plaquemines, border New Orleans to the south and stretch down either side of the Mississippi River to its mouth and the Gulf. To the north of New Orleans lies Lake Pontchartrain, a large and brackish body of water that feeds into the Gulf of Mexico.
About the Author
Jim Letten. Former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana. J.D., Tulane University School of Law; B.A., University of New Orleans.
Citation
87 Tul. L. Rev. 1245 (2013)