Louisiana Articles & Resources - Hampton Law Firm

This is one of the most frustrating questions for homeowners because the answer is often: **it depends.** When someone is in your home and refusing to leave, it feels obvious. It is your house. You asked them to go. They said no. Naturally, you may think law enforcement can simply make them leave. Sometimes they can. Sometimes they cannot. The difference usually depends on whether the person is a true trespasser, a temporary guest, or someone who may have become an occupant.

The responsibility of ethical journalism. One of the most legally dangerous mistakes in social media reporting is treating a person’s family relationships as evidence. A private attorney may be the daughter of a judge. She may be married to, separated from, or in conflict with a detective. She may own a private law firm and also accept felony public-defense work. Those facts may make her recognizable in a community, but they do not automatically make every private marital dis

Before You Publish - Check Your Standards Why Words Matter Most people do not think of a Facebook post as a legal document. They think of it as a place to vent, warn others, tell their side of a dispute, or ask for support when they feel hurt, embarrassed, betrayed, or wronged. Yet in modern litigation, a social media post can become far more than a moment of emotion. It can become a screenshot, an exhibit, a demand-letter attachment, a custody-trial issue, a criminal-investi

Defamation, Slander, Libel, and the Real Cost of Saying It Anyway Ethical and Responsible Reporting and Journalism, Written By Judith L. Hampton, Attorney At Law People say things every day. They say things in anger, in group messages, in parking lots, in workplaces, in church circles, at ballfields, in salons, in courthouse hallways, in comment sections, on Facebook posts, in TikToks, in live videos, and in private messages that somehow never stay private. Sometimes they say

Journalism and Due Diligence A response is not meaningful if the damage has already been done. One of the clearest differences between responsible journalism and public shaming is whether the person being accused is given a meaningful opportunity to respond. That phrase matters: meaningful opportunity. It does not mean a rushed message sent after the post has already been written, the headline has already been chosen, and the conclusion has already been implied. A meaningful

Because repeating something is not the same as proving it. The Duty To Verify and Due Diligence Professionalism Standards A story can move fast. A rumor can move faster. A social media post, especially one written with dramatic language and aimed at public outrage, can move faster than both. That is exactly why verification matters. Speed may win attention, but accuracy is what earns trust. Before anyone publishes an accusation, a claim, a screenshot, a statement, a tip, or a

Ethical and Responsible Reporting and Journalism, Written By Judith L. Hampton, Attorney At Law I know what it feels like to become a story before anyone has asked for the truth. I know what it feels like for people to read something about a person, form an opinion about that person’s character, family, work, marriage, and life, and never pause long enough to ask whether the full story was investigated, verified, or placed in its proper context before it was published. I also

On internet narratives, courtroom work, and the real weight of advocacy I made a joke in court this week that I probably should not put on a billboard. It was funny in the moment. The kind of joke that only works because the people in the room understand the context, the pressure, the absurdity, and the difference between what happens online and what happens inside an actual courtroom. And that is exactly why I probably should not put it on a billboard. Because humor does not

The quiet courage of standing beside someone when the room is watching I have learned there is a difference between private support and public presence. Both matter. The private text matters. The phone call matters. The quiet prayer matters. The person who checks on you when nobody else knows about it matters. I will never minimize that kind of support, because sometimes those private moments are what help a person keep going. But there is something different about the person

Sometimes legal problems do not start with a contract, a courtroom, or a big dramatic moment. Sometimes they start with someone saying, “They’re just going to stay here for a little while.” A friend needs help. A boyfriend or girlfriend needs a place to land. An adult child comes back home. A family member is going through a rough patch. Somebody promises it will only be for a few days, maybe a few weeks, just until they get back on their feet. And because you have a heart, y

What Clients Need to Know Before Their First Court Date Written By: Judith L. Hampton Hampton Law Firm I am trying to become the kind of lawyer I needed. Not perfect. Not untouchable. Not the kind of person who pretends life is simple because pretending is easier than admitting how heavy it can get. I mean the kind of lawyer who remembers that by the time someone walks into court, they may have already survived the longest night of their life. They may have cried in the car

Why Good People Still Need Criminal Defense Written By: Judith L. Hampton, Attorney At Law Hampton Law Firm I have learned not to throw stones because life has taught me how quickly people can become certain about things they do not actually know. A story can travel faster than the truth. An accusation can become a label. A bad moment can become someone’s entire identity. A public version can harden in people’s minds before the evidence is ever reviewed. People who were no

How To Choose The Right Lawyer For You. Written By: Judith L. Hampton, Attorney At Law Hampton Law Firm Behind every law firm name is a person. Behind every client file is a person too. I understand that differently now than I did when I first started practicing law. There are things life teaches you that no classroom can. There are things that only become clear after you have had to keep functioning while carrying private pain. After you have learned that not every betrayal

What To Bring To Your First Lawyer Consultation Written By: Judith L. Hampton, Attorney At Law Hampton Law Firm I think people misunderstand confidence. Or maybe, more accurately, they misunderstand perceived confidence. They see someone walk into a room prepared, speak clearly, answer questions, and hold herself together, and they assume that person must feel as steady on the inside as she looks on the outside. This reminds me of the annoying saying "the grass isn't always g

Why Preparation Matters Before You Go To Court Written By: Judith L. Hampton Hampton Law Firm, LLC Some things are built in private long before anyone sees them in public. A law firm is built that way. A reputation is built that way. A life is rebuilt that way. A case is built that way too. People love to make assumptions about what someone was handed. They see a name on a building, a sign by the road, a professional title, a steady voice, a lawyer walking into court, and

Most people do not need a lawyer because life is going smoothly. They need a lawyer when something has cracked open. When a marriage breaks. When children are involved. When someone dies. When a charge is filed. When a family turns on itself. When one bad night becomes paperwork. When one accusation becomes a reputation. When one court date feels like it could change everything. By the time most people call a lawyer, they are not just looking for a statute. They are lo

This series is not meant to be a neatly packaged testimony with a perfect beginning, middle, and ending. It is an honest reflection on adult faith: the kind that still believes, still aches, still remembers, but sometimes forgets how to speak. It is about the distance that can grow between a person and Jesus, not because love disappeared, but because life became heavy, complicated, disappointing, and loud. If you haven't heard the song, I encourage you to listen to it. Some o

This series is not meant to be a neatly packaged testimony with a perfect beginning, middle, and ending. It is an honest reflection on adult faith: the kind that still believes, still aches, still remembers, but sometimes forgets how to speak. It is about the distance that can grow between a person and Jesus, not because love disappeared, but because life became heavy, complicated, disappointing, and loud. If you haven't heard the song, I encourage you to listen to it. Some

This series is not meant to be a neatly packaged testimony with a perfect beginning, middle, and ending. It is an honest reflection on adult faith: the kind that still believes, still aches, still remembers, but sometimes forgets how to speak. It is about the distance that can grow between a person and Jesus, not because love disappeared, but because life became heavy, complicated, disappointing, and loud. If you haven't heard the song, I encourage you to listen to it. Some o

These are conversational reflections on the practice of law—the kind of things we might talk about if we were sitting across from each other with a cup of coffee. No legal jargon, no courtroom posturing. Just the human side of what we do every day. The Coffee Shop Series A lot of what I do—whether it is finalizing an uncontested divorce, walking a grieving family through a succession, or defending a client in court—involves guiding people through unavoidable discomfort. There