Abstract:
The Louisiana Constitution grants to the courts of appeal
“supervisory jurisdiction over cases which arise within its
circuit.” This constitutional provision arguably allows for
greater efficiency, certainty, and fairness in Louisiana courts by
allowing parties to seek appellate court review of an interlocutory
judgment prior to a case reaching final judgment. However,
courts’ and litigants’ misunderstanding over the effect of a court’s
denial of such requests—or “writs”—often leads to an erroneous
application of the “law of the case” doctrine, a policy employed by
Louisiana courts to prevent the reconsideration of prior rulings in
the same case.
