Judge Cynthia Spadoni

Division L

Secretary: Nadine Brou nbrou@15thjdc.org
Office: (337) 261-5130
Fax: (337) 261-5134

Law Clerk - Sam Biddick
lawclerkdivl@15thjdc.org
(337) 261-5132

Court Reporter
Caroline Morvant Morvantreporting@gmail.com
(337) 207-2121

MAILING ADDRESS
800 South Buchanan Street, Suite 724
Lafayette, La. 70501

CRIMINAL COURT INFORMATION

Judge Spadoni will preside over Track 3 of the criminal court division in Lafayette Parish. The following procedure applies in Track 3.

Warrant Recalls
To have a bench or fugitive warrant recalled, call our office. Requests will be reviewed at least once per day, and you will be notified of the status of your request at the telephone number you provide. Calling our office multiple times will not speed up the recall process.

Criminal Proceedings
Arraignments are handled by the Commissioner. At arraignment, every defendant is served with a pretrial date. If motions are to be heard, they should be filed and fixed for hearing on the assigned pretrial date. If a plea agreement is reached between the State and a defendant, it may be entered on the pretrial date.

Trial Fixings and Pleading

All criminal trial dates are set in open court on pretrial days.

Any matter set for trial in track 3 is also set for a Pleading Date in advance of the trial date. Defendants MUST appear on both dates. The Pleading date is the FINAL opportunity to for a Defendant to enter a plea pursuant to a plea bargain with the State. The list of trial dates and accompanying pleas dates can be found here Dates-Dockets.

Negotiated pleas are not accepted on the trial date. A Defendant wishing to plead guilty on his/her trial date may only plead subject to a presentence investigation with the judge alone determining sentence, with no promise as to sentence or cap on sentence.

Probation Revocation Hearings

Probation revocation hearings are held pursuant to the schedule found here Dates-Dockets.

Simultaneous Challenges
In accordance with the 15th Judicial District Court's Appendix 19 to Rule 19 of the Louisiana District Court Rules and Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure art. 788, Judge Spadoni orders the simultaneous exercise of peremptory challenges.

Jury Instructions
Download standard criminal jury instructions.

CIVIL COURT INFORMATION

Civil Rules and Motions

All civil rules and motions are set for 9:00 A.M. on the Monday of each civil week as reflected on the Master Court Calendar - designated by the letter L. Rules or motions may be heard via ZOOM as determined by the Court or requested by the parties. With agreement of all parties, a matter can be heard via ZOOM if a request is made no later than the Thursday proceeding the Monday hearing. Requests, with verification that all parties have agreed to conduct the hearing via ZOOM, are to be sent to lawclerkdivL@15thjdc.org you must review and abide by the rules for ZOOM Hearings prior to participation in a ZOOM hearing.

Pretrial Conferences

A pretrial conference is conducted in advance of every civil jury trial. These are specially set by the Court and notice of the pretrial conference will be sent separately from notice of the trial date as the trial date approaches. See appendices of uniform local rules for 15th JDC.

Trial Fixing
No conference is required in order to set matters for trial. Judge Spadoni's bench trial and jury trial dates are available online on the Master Court Calendar. Both parties should review the calendar, select a date, and then request that date from the Clerk. After a trial date is requested, the Clerk shall issue a scheduling order form, which sets forth the deadlines for discovery, motions, amendment of pleadings, etc. See appendices of Uniform Local Rules for the 15th JDC Appendix 9.4 to view the scheduling order. Remember that in accordance with Local Rule 9.14, no motion to fix for trial may be made or filed until 120 days after issue has been joined (with all parties).

Jury Instructions
Download standard civil jury instructions.
Download medical malpractice jury instructions.