Louisiana Courts Send $1.18 Million to Florida Judges' Conference
A Fox 8 review of travel records from more than 40 courts shows what the state has spent on the annual Sandestin gathering since 2022.
By Grace Anderson ·
Louisiana courts have spent $1.18 million sending judges to an annual continuing education conference at Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort near Destin, Florida, according to a Fox 8 review of travel records. The figure covers travel, food, lodging, registration and other costs tied to the Louisiana Judicial College and Louisiana State Bar Association Summer School conference from 2022 through 2025.
The station sought cost and reimbursement records from Louisiana's district, appellate and state supreme courts for those four years and received responses from more than 40 courts. Fox 8 did not obtain records from every court, so the $1.18 million total may understate what the state has spent.
The conference has been held in the Destin area since 1988, according to the Louisiana Supreme Court. The gathering is one of 10 seminars the Louisiana Judicial College sponsors each year, and the Supreme Court's statement describes it as the only program held outside the state.
Attendance is not optional. The state Supreme Court requires judges to complete 12.5 hours of continuing education annually, including five hours through an in-person Louisiana Judicial College seminar. Judges could meet that requirement at seminars held in Louisiana, and the Judicial College runs nine other programs in the state each year.
The Supreme Court sets caps on nightly lodging rates for the conference and on judicial travel spending overall. Its statement described Sandestin as "safe" and "centralized" and said the venue "aligns with best practices established by the Louisiana Supreme Court Judicial Security & Safety Management team, including holding the event in a single venue."
State Rep. Jerome Zeringue, a Republican from Houma, has pushed for limits on how Louisiana courts spend on travel. He questioned the choice of an out-of-state venue. "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," Zeringue said.
Rafael Goyeneche, president of the Metropolitan Crime Commission and a longtime judicial spending watchdog, made a similar point. "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 said the conference lets judges complete all their required continuing education hours in one sitting. He said Sandestin is "uniquely situated to meet all of our programmatic needs" and that hotels in New Orleans able to host the event without a convention center could not meet the room requests. Joseph said only one New Orleans hotel responded to a recent request for proposals, and that meeting there would cost more than Sandestin. Zeringue countered that judges living near New Orleans could drive to a local venue and avoid lodging costs.
Joseph said Sandestin is scheduled to host the conference in 2027 and 2028.
