The Louisiana Supreme Court is promising to clean up its own rulebook after a state audit spotlighted what Chief Justice John Weimer bluntly labeled "double-dipping" on travel pay for work in New Orleans. In internal memos included in the audit, Weimer warned that the current setup, which combines a $1,500 monthly payment with daily per diems, can look like the public is paying justices twice for meals. A majority of the court has now agreed to "clarify" the rule while deciding whether to push for a policy tweak, a statutory change, or both.
Audit flags overlapping payments
According to a report by the Louisiana Legislative Auditor, investigators reviewed whether taxpayers are effectively footing the bill twice when justices travel to the Supreme Court building in the French Quarter. The auditors recommended that the court either seek a change in state law so the $1,500 monthly payment clearly covers housing only, or rewrite its internal rules to spell out that the allowance is limited to lodging. The report reproduces memos and emails from court officials and from Weimer that triggered the closer look.
How much is at issue
Local records obtained by reporters show that justices received a little more than $189,000 in per diem payments from January 2021 through December 2025, while the $1,500 monthly housing allowance for seven justices came to about $619,500 over that same period. Reporting by FOX 8 breaks down those totals and notes that a 1990 state law authorizes the $1,500 monthly payment for justices' "reasonable housing and other expenses." A separate 2017 Justices Travel Rule allows daily per diems for travel more than 50 miles from a justice's home, and current coverage cites the per diem rate at $118 a day.
Chief Justice Weimer's warning
Weimer's memos, included in the auditor's file, do not mince words. He described the combined $1,500 stipends and per diems as "double-dipping" and warned that the stipend, as it is currently interpreted, could appear "lavish and extravagant, even outrageous." He argued that simply revising the travel rule would risk blessing what he considers previously documented abuse and said he favors seeking a change in state law to nail down exactly what the payments are supposed to cover. Those written warnings from the chief justice sit at the heart of the auditor's review.
Lawmakers and watchdogs push change
At the Capitol, state Rep. Jerome Zeringue filed a bill this session to link judicial per diems to a federal rate, a shift that would drop the New Orleans per diem from $118 to $80 if it becomes law. The measure advanced out of the House, according to local coverage. Government watchdogs, including Metropolitan Crime Commission president Rafael Goyeneche, told reporters that the audit findings warrant a harder look at how judges are compensated and what benefits they receive. Both the legislation and those watchdog reactions are outlined in the FOX 8 reporting on the audit.
What comes next
The court has told the auditor it will review the Justices Travel Rule and tighten its policy in line with the Legislative Auditor's recommendation. Justices are weighing whether to rely on internal rule changes, to ask lawmakers for a statutory fix, or to do some of both. In the meantime, legislators and oversight groups are expected to keep the heat turned up while the branches haggle over how to prevent overlap going forward. Whatever the final mix of policy and law, the audit has dragged the court's travel pay practices squarely into public view.
