Judge Dawn Amacker

Division L

Judge Dawn Amacker is the District Judge for Division “L” of the 22nd Judicial District Court of the State of Louisiana. Judge Amacker was instrumental in the establishment of the 22nd JDC Family Court by the Louisiana Legislature and was one of the first two judges elected in 2008 to the divisions of the 22nd JDC that exclusively hear Family Court cases. She was re-elected for a third term in 2020. Judge Amacker was also elected and served as Chief Judge of the 22nd Judicial District Court for a two year term beginning January 1, 2019.

Judge Amacker was born in Victoria, Texas, where her father was stationed with the U.S. Air Force. At the end of her father’s military service, the family returned home to Washington Parish, Louisiana, where Judge Amacker graduated from Bogalusa High School. She obtained her B.A. from Southeastern Louisiana University.

Judge Amacker received her Juris Doctorate from LSU Law School in 1982, where she was selected to serve on the Moot Court Board and on the LSU National Moot Court Team. After law school, she was employed with the District Attorney’s Office in St. Tammany Parish as an Assistant District Attorney. She later served as senior law clerk for Judge Hillary J. Crain, on the First Circuit Court of Appeal.

Prior to her election in 2008, she was a partner for over 25 years in the law firm of Collett and Amacker, where she was engaged in a general trial practice with a specialization in family law in Washington and St. Tammany Parishes. During her years of practice, she was appointed to serve as Judge Pro Tempore for Bogalusa City Court. She obtained certification and practiced extensively as a Qualified Mediator and as a Collaborative Law Attorney and was President of the Washington Parish Bar Association and an officer in the Greater Covington Bar Association.

Judge Amacker is a Louisiana Board Certified Family Court Specialist, receiving certification in 1995, the first year certification was offered in the state. At the time of her election, she was Chairman of the Louisiana Family Law Advisory Council, and was rated “AV” by Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating that can be received by an attorney for expertise and ethics. She was named a “Louisiana Super Lawyer” for the three years prior to her election and named one of the “Top 50 Women Attorneys in Louisiana”.

By appointment of the Louisiana Supreme Court she has served on the Uniform District Court Rules Committee for Family Court since 2009. She was chosen by the Supreme Court for the first Louisiana Judicial Leadership Class in 2011. She was appointed by the Supreme Court to be a member of the Judges Imparting Knowledge, Education, and Skills Task Force in 2021.

Since her election, in addition to her duties handling the Family Court civil docket, she has presided over Juvenile Court, including Juvenile Drug Court and Traffic Court.

She is a member of the LSU Law School’s Board of Trustees and has served on several Louisiana State Law Institute committees including those on Specialized Family Courts, Marriage and Persons and Tutorship. She is a Fellow of the Louisiana Bar Foundation and frequently serves as a lecturer on family law and professionalism topics.

To contact Judge Amacker’s office:

Michelle Simon, Administrative Assistant
Email: msimon@stpgov.org
Telephone: 985-809-5419

Kendra F. McCune, Staff Attorney/Hearing Officer
Email: kfmccune@stpgov.org
Telephone: 985-809-5418

Rules Regarding Virtual Court

At this time, Division “L” is conducting all rules in both St. Tammany and Washington Parishes via Zoom.

Hearings are limited to one hour, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, and time shall be allocated equally.

EXHIBITS:

Exhibits which may be introduced in a Virtual hearing, with the exception of rebuttal exhibits, shall be provided to Judge Amacker’s Chambers via email to msimon@stpgov.org by 3:30 p.m. the day before the Virtual hearing. However, if the documents to be introduced exceed ten (10) pages, the party shall submit a bench book including all of the evidence to be introduced, to the Judge’s Office, by 3:30 p.m. the day before the hearing. These documents will not be reviewed by the court unless accepted into evidence or agreed to by the parties. Any documents that have not been timely provided as set out herein will not be allowed to be introduced as evidence, unless submitted by agreement of the parties. It is the sole responsibility of the party/counsel offering evidence to ensure handling the “share screen” function. The Court will not “screen share” for the parties.

If the party/counsel would like to retrieve the submitted exhibits following the hearing, they MUST do so within 7 days of the hearing.

RULES FOR PARTICIPATING IN VIRTUAL HEARINGS:

All Court rules on attire and conduct in Court for attorneys, participants and witnesses remain in effect, which includes, but is not limited to the following:

All participants, attorneys and witnesses are required to have Zoom capability, and have sufficient audio and video connection with an appropriate and stationary background. All Court rules on attire and conduct in Court for attorneys, participants and witnesses remain in effect, which includes, but is not limited to the following:

1.     Proper attire is required for all Zoom hearings. You must be fully dressed and seated in a chair. No party is to have on sleepwear,                hats, shorts, tank tops, flip flops or have bare midriffs and shirts-tails must be tucked in. No party appearing by Zoom may be                  smoking, eating or drinking.

2.     No other persons, except attorneys of record, are permitted to be in the room during proceedings without prior Court approval.

3.     Neither the parties, their attorneys, nor their agents or assigns, are to photograph or record by any means any part of the remote                proceeding. A violation of these Court orders shall be considered grounds for a finding of contempt of court.

4.     To the extent possible, all participants shall participate on their own device (phone, computer, Ipad, etc.)

5.     Participants’ devices shall not be in close proximity as this may cause audio and video transmission issues.

6.     No witness shall have documents or notes in front of them while testifying unless given permission by the Court. The Court may,            in its discretion, at any time, request participants to adjust the web camera to show anything a witness may appear to be reading                during a hearing

Click the button below. Please add your full name before joining. Each person must be clearly identified by name before he or she is allowed into the video conference. You will be placed into a virtual waiting room for Hearing Officer, Kendra McCune.

LOOKING FOR YOUR HEARING OFFICER CONFERENCE? Click here: Hearing Officer Conference