Jerome Matthews | Criminal District Court Judge, Section A | One Standard, Every Person, Every Time

12 Years in
Criminal Courts

About the Candidate

Twelve Years in the Courtroom.
Ready to Lead It.

Marine. Tulane. Berkeley Law. Over 30 jury trials. This is the resume Section A needs.

Jerome Matthews is not a politician asking for a promotion. He is a courtroom lawyer with twelve years of experience in Criminal District Court who has done the work that prepares someone to sit on the bench.

After graduating from Tulane University in 2008, Jerome earned his law degree from UC Berkeley School of Law, one of the top law schools in the country. He came home to New Orleans and began his legal career at Liskow and Lewis, one of the most respected law firms in Louisiana, where he spent two years sharpening the research, writing, and analytical skills that would become the foundation of his trial practice. He then devoted himself fully to criminal defense, building his career where it mattered most: inside the criminal courtrooms of Orleans Parish. He has served as first-chair counsel in more than 30 jury trials. Not plea negotiations. Not paper shuffles. Jury trials, where a lawyer stands in front of twelve people and fights for a result.

His caseload has included homicide, firearm offenses, and other high-stakes felony matters where the margin for error is zero. He writes motions, tries cases, handles appeals, and fights complex legal issues through every stage of the process. Jerome was the trial attorney who made the record in Ramos v. Louisiana, the landmark United States Supreme Court decision that changed the law across the entire country by requiring unanimous jury verdicts in state criminal trials. That is not a footnote on a resume. That is the kind of consequential, history-making work that defines a career.

Jerome is not learning. He is not growing into the role. He has been doing this work at the highest level for over a decade, and he is ready to bring that same preparation, discipline, and courtroom command to the bench in Section A.

Home

New Orleans, Louisiana

Service

United States Marine Corps

Practice

12 Years · Criminal Law

Position Sought

Criminal District Court Judge, Section A

One Standard, Every Person, Every Time

What Twelve Years of Experience
Delivers to Section A

01 ⏰

An Efficient and Predictable Courtroom

No one should lose an entire day of work for five minutes in front of a judge. Twelve years of practice in Criminal District Court taught Jerome how cases stall and how they move. Section A will run on a docket grounded in fairness and predictable timelines, because a judge with real experience knows how to keep things moving without cutting corners.

02 📋

A Docket Grounded in Fairness and Predictable Timelines

Attorneys should know when their case will be called. Families should not have to guess whether today will be the day something actually happens. Jerome has spent over a decade watching dockets run well and watching them fail. He knows the difference, and Section A will reflect it: organized scheduling, realistic timeframes, and a system where every person in that courtroom can plan their day with confidence.

03 ⚖

Correct Rulings Under Pressure, Every Time

This is not about learning the law on the job. Jerome has spent twelve years mastering criminal procedure, trying over 30 cases to verdict as first chair, writing motions, arguing appeals, and handling the kind of high-stakes felony matters where getting the ruling wrong changes someone's life. He already knows the procedure. He has already made these calls under pressure. Section A will have a judge who does not hesitate because the law is not new to him.

04 🤝

Every Person in That Courtroom Matters

Victims who have waited months for their day. Defendants whose futures hang on a single hearing. Families who took off work and arranged childcare just to be present. Witnesses who are terrified to testify. Jurors who put their lives on hold. Attorneys who prepared for weeks. Deputies who keep the room safe. Every single person in Section A will be treated with the dignity and respect that the justice system demands. No one is invisible. No one is an afterthought. That is what "one standard, every person, every time" means.

05 ⚡

The Experience to Move Cases Without Sacrificing Justice

Speed without substance helps no one. Jerome has handled homicides, firearms cases, and complex felony matters where the details are the difference between justice and injustice. He has tried cases, argued appeals, and fought legal battles through every stage of the process. That depth of experience is what allows a judge to move a docket efficiently while making sure every ruling is right. Section A will not trade thoroughness for speed. It will have both, because the judge on the bench has already done this work for twelve years.

∞ 🏭

One Standard. Every Person. Every Time.

This is not a campaign slogan. It is the professional standard of a lawyer who has spent twelve years in Criminal District Court and knows exactly what the bench demands. Hold Jerome Matthews accountable to every single one of them, beginning day one. That is what experience looks like. That is what Section A deserves.

The Foundation

What Shaped Jerome Matthews

🏠

New Orleans Born and Raised

Jerome grew up in the neighborhoods of New Orleans, where the criminal justice system is not something people read about in the newspaper. It is something that touches families, neighbors, and communities every single day. He went to school here. He worships here. He is raising his family here. When he walks into Criminal District Court, he is not visiting. He is home. That local credibility is something no resume can manufacture and no outsider can replicate.

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United States Marine Corps, 2001 to 2006

Jerome served in the United States Marine Corps from 2001 to 2006 during some of the most consequential years in modern military history. The Corps did not just teach him discipline. It taught him how to lead under pressure, how to make critical decisions when the stakes are real, and how to hold yourself to a standard that does not bend because the situation gets difficult. That training shaped every part of who he is as a lawyer, a father, and a leader. It is the backbone of everything he brings to the courtroom.

👪

Father, Family Man, and Neighbor

Jerome is a father, and fatherhood changed the way he sees the law. When you are raising children in New Orleans, the criminal justice system is not abstract. It is the system that determines whether your neighborhood is safe, whether the people around your kids are treated fairly, and whether the courts your community depends on actually work. Jerome brings that perspective to every case. He understands that a ruling is never just a ruling. It ripples through families and communities for years.

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Tulane. Berkeley Law. Twelve Years of Trial Work.

Jerome graduated from Tulane University in 2008 and earned his Juris Doctor from UC Berkeley School of Law in 2011. He then returned to New Orleans, spent two years at Liskow and Lewis developing the rigorous analytical foundation that defines his practice, and then devoted himself fully to criminal defense. He has spent over a decade doing the work that most candidates only talk about: first-chairing jury trials in homicide and serious felony cases, writing complex motions, arguing appeals, and fighting for clients at every stage of the criminal justice process. That combination of elite legal training and deep, sustained courtroom experience is rare, and it is exactly what the bench in Section A requires.

Take Action

Stand with Jerome Matthews
for Section A

Jerome is building this campaign the New Orleans way: neighbor by neighbor, block by block. Your donation, your time, and your yard sign are how we bring real experience and real standards to the bench in Section A.

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Donate

Fund the Campaign

Your contribution is an investment in a courtroom that works. Every dollar funds the yard signs, outreach, advertising, and grassroots organizing that it takes to win a judicial election in New Orleans. Jerome is not backed by political machines. This campaign runs on the support of people who believe Section A deserves better.

$2,500Patron

$1,000Champion

$500Advocate

$250Supporter

OtherAny Amount

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Online Donations Opening Soon

We are finalizing our secure online donation portal. In the meantime, contributions can be mailed to:

Committee to Elect Jerome Matthews
P.O. Box 6087
New Orleans, LA 70174

You may also reach the campaign directly at [email protected].

Paid for by the Committee to Elect Jerome Matthews.
Contributions are not tax-deductible. Make checks payable to "Committee to Elect Jerome Matthews."

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Volunteer

Give Your Time

Phone banking, canvassing, event staffing, social media. There is a role for every skill set. New Orleans wins when neighbors show up for each other.

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Yard Sign

Show Your Support

Put Jerome's name on your lawn, your block, your neighborhood. Visibility wins elections. Request a free yard sign and the campaign will deliver it directly to you.

Get in Touch

We Want to Hear
From New Orleans

Let's Talk

Have a question, a concern, or something you want Jerome to know about Criminal District Court? This campaign belongs to the people of New Orleans. Jerome is listening.

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[email protected]

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Mailing Address

P.O. Box 6087
New Orleans, LA 70174

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Election Day

November 3, 2026

Send a Message

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JeromeMatthews

Twelve Years in the Courtroom.Ready to Lead It.

What Twelve Years of ExperienceDelivers to Section A