Meet Judge Karen Herman

Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeal

On November 8th, 2022, Judge Karen K. Herman was elected to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeal. She was elected as a judge of criminal district court in 2008 and re-elected without opposition in 2014 and again in 2020. Immediately upon taking the bench in criminal court, Herman volunteered to assume the responsibilities of presiding over the state’s first mental health court, in addition to the Section I docket, as well as a specialty drug court, over which Herman presided for more than nine years. Herman’s mental health court has become a model for other similar specialty courts around the state.


Herman served as Chief Judge of Criminal District Court. In addition to the responsibility for managing her own docket,  Judge Herman, as Chief Judge, also oversaw a number of administrative functions and served as an ex officio member on all of the court's committees.


She was elected to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal in 2022, after a seat was vacated by Judge James McKay, who has retired from a long and distinguished career of service on the Criminal Court bench and the Court of Appeal. Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines Parishes make up the district.

Prior to her election in 2008, Herman served as the executive director of Court Watch NOLA, where she received high marks for helping the court system to get back on track after the disruption from Hurricane Katrina.  Previous to that, Herman spent years in the New Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, where she served as a trial attorney, a homicide screener, and was instrumental in establishing the Violent Offender Strike Force.


Since taking the bench, Herman has distinguished herself as one of the court's most efficient judges, consistently high in the rankings according to the annual reports released by the Metropolitan Crime Commission.  Herman serves as the vice chair of the Committee on Justice System Funding for the Louisiana District Judges Association, as an assistant bar examiner in the Louisiana State Bar Criminal Law Section, and as an adjunct professor teaching trial advocacy at Tulane Law School.


Outside of the courtroom, Herman serves on the board of the Cancer Association of Louisiana and is an Emeritus Board Member of the Eden House.


A New Orleans native, Herman graduated cum laude from Tulane Law School, having earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University, where she was a nationally ranked tennis player.  Before that, Herman was an All-Metro academic athlete while attending high school at St. Martin’s.

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In the News

03 Jan, 2022
Orleans Criminal Court Judge Karen Herman, who has served on that bench for 13 years and presided as its Chief through the COVID pandemic and Hurricane Ida, announced her decision to seek the at-large Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal seat being vacated by Judge Jimmy McKay, who has retired from a long and distinguished career of service on the Criminal Court bench and the Court of Appeal, effective today. The primary election will be held on Tuesday, November 8, covering the parishes of Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines.   Judge Herman released the following statement: Today, I have notified my fellow Judges here in Criminal Court, and now announce to the public my intention to run for the at-large Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal seat. It has been an honor to serve for 13 years as a Criminal Court judge and in the past two years, to lead our court system as Chief Judge through the extremely difficult circumstances of Covid-19 and Hurricane Ida. It was not an easy venture, but the cooperation of all criminal justice agencies, together with my fellow judges, promoted service to the public through unprecedented challenges. Since taking the Criminal Court bench in January 2009, I have worked diligently to fairly and impartially protect the interests of defendants, the State, victim’s families and the community at large. I have presided over the district’s only Mental Health Court, assisting the most vulnerable clients from all 12 sections of Criminal Court to ensure their safety and well-being, as well as those surrounding them. I additionally presided over a Drug Court for 10 years, committing extra time to assist clients who have spiraled into drug addiction and ensuring they attain employment and stable housing. I am so proud to see the many success stories that have graduated out of both Specialty Courts. Since my admission to practice in 1994, I have always viewed it as my responsibility to try to give back to the legal profession. My service as Executive Director of CourtWatch NOLA, a non-profit agency dedicated to highlighting transparency and efficiency in the criminal justice system; my career as a prosecutor with the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office, where I successfully tried over 100 cases, including 24 homicides; and the numerous experiences I have had in the civil arena, working on two large commercial fraud cases, or through academic, bar association, and judicial conference efforts and activities, have prepared me to seek this new position. I have been honored to Chair the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Diversity Committee, serve as an adjunct professor for Tulane’s Trial Advocacy Course, be a volunteer mentor for the Tulane Moot Court Program, as well as provide professional education seminars and lectures on ethics, professional behavior, needed legislation, and the utility of diversion programs to the Louisiana Judicial College, the Louisiana State Bar Association, and the New Orleans Bar Association. Now I seek to take my experiences to better serve this community as Judge McKay retires. I ask the voters of Orleans, St. Bernard and Plaquemines for this honor.
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