NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Supreme Court declined to hear arguments over whether additional municipalities should be a part of District Attorney Hillar Moore's lawsuit against the East Baton Rouge Parish, Mayor-President Sid Edwards and the Metro Council.

Moore initially filed suit against the city-parish government in April for millions of dollars in an effort to gain more funding for the DA’s office. After Moore filed the lawsuit, the city-parish responded, saying St. George, Baker, Central and Zachary should be added as defendants in the case.

The 19th Judicial District Court Judge Tarvald Smith sided with the city-parish, ordering all the municipalities to be included before it could move forward. 

Moore took the case to the First Circuit Court of Appeals, which reversed the decision over the summer. Following the appellate court decision, East Baton Rouge appealed to the Louisiana Supreme Court to hear the case.

In his initial lawsuit, Moore argued that the matter was an "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."

He expressed concerns at the time that once procedural steps are completed, the 2026 fiscal year would be expired, “rendering the relief sought substantially impaired or effectively moot.”

On Wednesday, Moore said that he was satisfied with the Supreme Court’s denial and that the initial lawsuit can proceed with the correct parameters.

“We thought the law was clear in how we captioned the lawsuit and who we named as defendants,” Moore said. “This speeds the process up. We’re prepared to head to court and have this issue resolved.”

He said he expects a trial date for the lawsuit to be set sometime next week.

Representatives of the city government were unable to be reached for comment.