--- title: "James David Cain Jr. | KnowJudges" canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-d-cain-jr" page_type: "judge_profile" updated: "2026-10-09" --- # James David Cain Jr. U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana · Judge ## Profile - Court: U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana - State: Louisiana - Role: Judge - Service status: active - Last verified: 2026-07-25 ## Summary Official judge-specific and circuitwide procedural guidance has been located for this profile. ## Biography ### Professional career - Judge, District Court, W.D. Louisiana, 2019-present - In May 2024, McNeese State University conferred an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters on Judge Cain for his service, support for the university, and contributions to Louisiana - Judge, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana - from 2019 - James David Cain Jr. is a United States District Judge for the Western District of Louisiana, appointed in 2019 by President Donald Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 77–21 - Partner — Lundy & Davis, LLP - 1998 to 2006 - Attorney — Lundy & Davis, LLP - 1994 to 1998 - Judicial Law Clerk — Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal - Honorable Henry Yelverton - 1993 to 1994 - Henry L. Yelverton (Louisiana 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, 1993–1994); practiced law for 12 years at Lundy & Davis, then as a founding partner of Lake Charles firm Loftin, Cain & LeBlanc, LLC - Summer Law Clerk — Unglesby and Koch Law Firm - 1992 to 1992 - Summer Law Clerk — Beauregard Parish District Attorney's Office, 36th Judicial District - 1991 to 1991 ### Education - Southern University Law Center — Law; cum laude — J.D. (1993) - McNeese State University — B.S. (1990) ### Additional information - confirmed by Senate 77-21 on June 19, 2019. - received commission June 25, 2019. - Founding Member and Partner — Loftin, Cain & LeBlanc, LLC - 2007 to 2019 - Private practice, Lake Charles, LA, 1994-2019 - Nominated by President Donald Trump on Aug 28, 2018 to seat vacated by Judge Patricia Head Minaldi. - Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Nov 13, 2018. - Congressional Aide — U.S. Representative James A. 'Jimmy' Hayes - Louisiana Seventh Congressional District - 1987 to 1993 - Date of birth: 1964-01-01 - Lake Charles Division. - handles Western District of Louisiana cases. - Birth place: DeRidder, LA ## Before you appear - Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed. - Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance. - Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding. ## Courtroom Rules ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: Electronic exhibits for trial only. Please see the Deputy Clerk of Court’s instructions at www.lawd.uscourts.gov (Chambers/Judge Cain/trial) as to how to properly submit electronic exhibits for trial. A real-time glossary must be submitted to lawd_realtime@lawd.uscourts.gov 14 days before trial regardless of whether you are requesting real-time reporting services . [Pretrial_Statement%208.4.2025.docx](https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/sites/lawd/files/UPLOADS/Pretrial_Statement%208.4.2025.docx) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### presentation procedure Scope: judge specific Judge-specific source Evidence excerpt: 8. Electronic exhibits for trial only. Please see the Deputy Clerk of Court’s instructions at www.lawd.uscourts.gov (Chambers/Judge Cain/trial) as to how to properly submit electronic exhibits for trial. [Pretrial_Statement%208.4.2025.pdf](https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/sites/lawd/files/UPLOADS/Pretrial_Statement%208.4.2025.pdf) Source checked: 2026-07-24 ### civil remote testimony Scope: courtwide In federal district-court civil proceedings, testimony is ordinarily taken in open court; remote contemporaneous testimony requires good cause in compelling circumstances and appropriate safeguards. Evidence excerpt: For good cause in compelling circumstances and with appropriate safeguards, the court may permit testimony in open court by contemporaneous transmission from a different location. [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ### criminal recording and broadcasting Scope: courtwide Federal district courts may not permit courtroom photography or broadcasting during criminal judicial proceedings unless a statute or another federal rule provides an exception. Evidence excerpt: Except as otherwise provided by a statute or these rules, the court must not permit the taking of photographs in the courtroom during judicial proceedings or the broadcasting of judicial proceedings from the courtroom. [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) Source checked: 2026-07-26 ## Sources - [Official profile](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6631566) - [Official roster](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6631566) - [Federal Judicial Center biography](https://www.fjc.gov/node/6631566) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8559/james-david-cain-jr/) - [Pretrial_Statement%208.4.2025.docx](https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/sites/lawd/files/UPLOADS/Pretrial_Statement%208.4.2025.docx) - [Pretrial_Statement%208.4.2025.pdf](https://www.lawd.uscourts.gov/sites/lawd/files/UPLOADS/Pretrial_Statement%208.4.2025.pdf) - [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 43(a), Testimony in Open Court](https://www.uscourts.gov/forms-rules/current-rules-practice-procedure/federal-rules-civil-procedure) - [Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 53, Courtroom Photographing and Broadcasting Prohibited](https://www.uscourts.gov/court-records/access-court-proceedings/remote-public-access-proceedings/history-cameras-broadcasting-and-remote-public-access-courts) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8559/james-david-cain-jr/) - [Wikidata: James D. Cain Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56289647) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-d-cain-jr) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.fjc.gov/node/1398858) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/download/james-cain-senate-questionaire-publicpdf) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_D._Cain_Jr.) - [Supplied Louisiana biography research](https://www.non-stop.kr/BsTransOriginPage.php?tpv=&tplFileName=cntTpl250202181515-647101481&t_url=http%3A%2F%2Fweb.archive.org%2Fweb%2F20210225124053%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fballotpedia.org%2FJames_Cain%2C_Jr.&isref=1) - [CourtListener judicial biographical directory](https://www.courtlistener.com/person/8559/james-david-cain-jr/) - [Wikidata: James D. Cain Jr.](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q56289647) ## JSON-LD ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-d-cain-jr", "url": "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/james-d-cain-jr", "name": "James David Cain Jr. | KnowJudges", "description": "James David Cain Jr., U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana. 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Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-civil-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27. - [Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, December 1, 2025](https://knowjudges.com/courtroom-rules/national-shared-set-8721a344fececced2257fe1d) — Criminal proceedings in United States District Courts; this conservative mapping does not distribute appellate-specific provisions to appellate judges. Section-specific exceptions, waivers, later amendments and case orders remain applicable. This is a source excerpt, not an exhaustive statement of the rule. [Official source](https://www.uscourts.gov/sites/default/files/document/federal-rules-of-criminal-procedure.pdf). Collected 2026-10-27.