BATON ROUGE — District Attorney Hillar Moore has filed to have an appeals court review a lawsuit he filed in April to seek more funding for the East Baton Rouge Parish District Attorney's Office after the 19th JDC ruled that he must add all East Baton Rouge Parish municipalities to the lawsuit. 

Moore's appeal comes after the 19th JDC ruled that the lawsuit cannot proceed unless every municipality within East Baton Rouge Parish is included in the lawsuit. Moore's initial lawsuit sued only the city-parish.

The appeal, which Moore filed a civil writ application for on Friday, argues that the 19th JDC's ruling to include the other governments "because those municipalities are not required under La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 641." 

"Absent expedited review, the improper joinder ruling will inject unnecessary parties and delay into proceedings that are, by statute and jurisprudence, intended to be summary in nature and resolved promptly," the application says. 

Moore also argued that this matter is a "urgent public safety issue," and that the parish's ongoing failure to fund his office "has already resulted in staff attrition, overwhelming caseloads and significant delays in prosecutions—conditions that directly impair the administration of justice and threaten the safety and welfare of the public."

Moore added that an expedited review of the case by the appellate court is warranted because the lawsuit and funding issues concern the DA's 2026 funding, which he says is "well underway and nearing completion."

"The district court's incorrect ruling necessarily will impose substantial procedural delays. By the time those procedural steps are completed, the 2026 fiscal year will be largely, if not entirely, expired, rendering the relief sought substantially impaired or effectively moot," Moore's application continues.

Moore's writ application can be read here.