Jerome Matthews

I am a New Orleans trial and appellate lawyer whose practice focuses on serious criminal cases, federal defense, supervisory writs, appeals, and constitutional litigation. Since 2011, I have practiced in Louisiana state and federal courts, and since 2013 I have owned Matthews Law Office, L.L.C. I have served as lead counsel in more than forty jury trials and numerous bench trials. Much of my practice is devoted to appointed representation for indigent clients through the Criminal Justice Act panel and public defender and conflict panels in southeast Louisiana.A defining part of my work is supervisory-writ practice: identifying the controlling issue, developing the record a reviewing court needs, selecting the proper procedural vehicle, and writing under compressed deadlines without sacrificing accuracy. I was trial counsel in State v. Ramos, where I preserved the non-unanimous-jury objection that became the vehicle for Ramos v. Louisiana, 590 U.S. 83 (2020). In State v. Owney, the Louisiana Supreme Court adopted the statutory interpretation I advanced concerning juvenile hearing officers’ warrant authority while resolving the suppression question on a separate ground. I have also briefed multiple appeals in the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and handle state post-conviction and federal habeas matters.The same research-driven method has carried into civil litigation, including election, employment, and constitutional matters. In 2026, my work included Towbin v. Fuller, Crockett v. State of Louisiana, St. Hubert v. OPS Family Care, and Fuller v. State of Louisiana. Before law school, I served five years in the United States Marine Corps and deployed to Afghanistan. I began my legal career in commercial litigation at Liskow & Lewis. Since 2013, I have taught criminal justice and political science as an adjunct professor. I also represent veterans pro bono, represent indigent parents in child-welfare proceedings, serve on the boards of the Federal Bar Association’s New Orleans Chapter and the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and mentor high school students through the LSBA’s Suit Up for the Future program.My approach is consistent across subject areas: begin with primary sources, master the record, identify the dispositive issue, and state the conclusion no more broadly than the law permits.