About

Judge Roland Belsome of the State Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit has emerged in recent years as one of the most visible and active jurists in Louisiana, recognized not only for his involvement in professional organizations and continuing legal education, but also for his commitment to community activities, and for his progressive and inclusionist view of the judicial process.

Judge Belsome is a graduate of New Orleans Public Schools, the University of New Orleans, and Tulane University School of Law, where he has served as an Adjunct Professor. Before his election to the Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit, he was a Judge in Orleans Parish Civil District Court and a well-known trial attorney with unusually broad experience and practice. He is an active lecturer in various continuing legal education programs given by organizations such as the Louisiana State Bar Association, Tulane Law School, Loyola Law School, the Louisiana Trial Lawyers Association, and others, on a wide variety of legal topics.

Judge Belsome has been deeply involved in programs that benefit inner city youth, and has received considerable attention from the news media for programs like his annual Christmas Bike giveaways that benefit outstanding local students. He has created programs that bring children into the courtrooms of Civil Court, to promote awareness of opportunities in the legal profession and a general awareness of our system of justice. He has also sponsored a winter coat program for children of local congregations. Among many acts of philanthropy, he has been active with other community leaders in the promotion of Café Reconcile, where he was a founding board member.

Judge Belsome has taken the view that it is important for the courts to make overtures to the public, particularly to young people, reaching out to bring them into the courtrooms – not as litigants or defendants, but as observers who better understand the process. He has sponsored mock trials in which children have appeared as principals. He has promoted opportunities for youths to become professionals and attorneys through mentoring programs and scholarships. He has been recognized for attempts to create new opportunities for minorities, the young, and the disadvantaged.

Judge Belsome is a member of numerous professional organizations, and has served on the board of important public policy initiatives, like the Mayor's Domestic Violence Advisory Board.

Judge Belsome currently serves as Judge of State Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit elected from the parishes of Orleans, St. Bernard, and Plaquemines.