James E. Boren

Bar / Professional Activity

• U.S. District Court for the District of Louisiana
• Member, Disciplinary Board Hearing Committee, Louisiana State Bar Association, 1994 - 1995
• Louisiana State Bar Association, Chairman, Committee on Ethical Standards for Criminal Practice, 1985 - 1988
• Criminal Justice Summit Planning Committee, Louisiana State Bar Association
• U.S. Court of Appeals 11th Circuit, 1981
• Board Member, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1992 - 1995
• U.S. District Court Eastern District of Louisiana, 1977
• Co-Chair, Death Penalty Committee, National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1994 - 1997
• President, Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1990 - 1991
• Louisiana Capital Defense Project, Member, Board of Directors, 1987 - 1989
• Chairman, Professional Responsibility Committee, Baton Rouge Bar Association, 1986 - 1987
• Louisiana State Bar Association, Chairman, Criminal Law Section, 1985 - 1986
• District 5, Board of Governors, Louisiana State Bar Association, 2008 - 2011
• U.S. Court of Appeals 5th Circuit, 1975
• Member, Baton Rouge Criminal Defense Lawyers Association
• U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana, 1976
• Co-Chairman, Indigent Defense Committee, 1990 - 1994
• Charter Member, Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Vice-Chairman, Professional Responsibility Committee, Baton Rouge Bar Association, 1984 - 1986
• Member, NORML Legal Committee, 1984 - Present
• Louisiana State Bar Association, House of Delegates
• Chair, Disciplinary Board Hearing Committee, Louisiana State Bar Association, 1995 - 2000
• Louisiana, 1975
• U.S. District Court Middle District of Louisiana, 1975
• National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1998 - 2000
• U.S. Supreme Court, 1979
• Board of Directors, Louisiana Justice Coalition, 2011 - Present
• Member, Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, 1985 - Present
• American Civil Liberties Union, Member, Civil Liberties Union, 1988 - 1992

Representative Clients

• State v. Edmondson, 714 So.2d 1233 (La. 1998)
• State v. Brown, 326 So. 2d 839 (La. 1975)
• State v. Peart, 621 So.2d 780 (La. 1993)
• Delaune v. U.S., 143 F.3d 995, 82 A.F.T.R. 2d 98 (5th Cir. (La.) 1998)
• State v. Shoemaker, 569 So.2d 169 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1990)
• In re Newchurch, 807 F.2d 404, 55 USLW 2398, 90 A.L.R. Fed. 889 (5th Cir. (La.) 1986)
• State v. Pearaa, 403 So.2d 1194 (La. 1981)
• U.S. v. Lewis, 621 F.2d 1382 (5th Cir. (La.) 1980)
• State v. Jones, 808 So.2d 609 (La.App. 1 Cir. 2001)
• State v. Forrest, 356 So.2d 945 (La. 1978)
• State v. Fugler, 721 So.2d 1 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1998)
• State v. Lott, 325 So. 2d 576 (La. 1976)
• State v. Edmondson, 699 So.2d 882 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1997)
• In re Kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Co., 214 F.3d 586, 47 Fed.R.Serv.3d 611 (5th Cir. (La.) 2000)
• Louisiana State Bar Ass'n v. Guidry, 571 So.2d 161 (La. 1990)
• U.S. v. Comeaux, 954 F.2d 255 (5th Cir. (La.) 1992)
• State v. Giordano, 489 So.2d. 487 (La.App. 3 Cir. 1986)
• U.S. v. Ackal, 706 F.2d 523, 13 Fed.R.Evid.Serv. 409 (5th Cir. (La.) 1983)
• In re Hunter, 823 So.2d.325 (La. 2002)
• Wayne v. Green, 389 So.2d 104 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1980)
• State v. Fugler, 737 So.2d 894 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1999)
• Johnson v. Capital City Press, Inc., 346 So.2d 819, 2 Media L. Rep. 2255 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1977)
• State v. Young, 712 So.2d 273 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1998)
• State v. Carter, 326 So.2d 848 (La. 1975)
• State ex rel. Mitchell v. State, 580 So.2d 906 (La. 1991)
• U.S. v. Terry, 5 F.3d 874 (5th Cir. (Miss.) 1993)
• State v. Dupre, 500 So. 2d. 873 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1986)
• U.S. v. Dozier, 707 F.2d 862 (5th Cir. (La.) 1983)
• Wayne v. Green, 389 So. 2d. 102 (La.App. 1 Cir. 1980)
• State v. Lee, 788 So.2d 452 (La.App. 1 Cir. 2001)
• State v. Davis, 351 So. 2d 771 (La. 1977)

Pro bono / Community Service

• Louisiana Supreme Court Task Force on Advanced Payment of Attorney's Fees, Member, 1990 - 1991
• Member, Governor's Task Force on Prison Overcrowding, 1986 - 1987
• Louisiana Supreme Court, Cameras in the Courtroom Task Force, 1993 - 1995
• Member, Louisiana Sentencing Commission, 1986 - 1987
• Member, Louisiana Indigent Defense Assistance Board, 1998 - 2003
• Member, Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice, 1985 - 1988
• Member, Advisory Committee, Joint Legislative Committee to Study Certification of Louisiana Evidentiary Rules, 1986 - Present
• Louisiana Public Defender Board, Capital Certification Advisory Committee
• Louisiana Legislature, Indigent Defense Task Force, 1996 - 1997
• Louisiana Sentencing Commission, Member, 1986 - 1987
• Louisiana Supreme Court Committee to Study Post Conviction Procedure, 2009 - 2010
• Member, Louisiana Law Institute Code of Criminal Procedure Advisory Committee, 1987 - Present
• Louisiana Public Defender Board, Louisiana State Bar Association Representative, 2008 - 2011
• Board Member, East Baton Rouge Indigent Defense Board, 1988 - 2007
• Louisiana Public Defender Board, Capital Certification Advisory Committee, Member

Educational Background

• Louisiana Tech University, Ruston, Louisiana, B.A., Major: History, Honors: Omicron Delta Kappa, 1971

Scholarly Lectures / Writings

• Louisiana State University Law Review, Member, 1974 - 1975
• Louisiana Unfair Trade Practice and Consumer Protection Act, 34 Louisiana Law Review 634
• The New Code of Professional Responsibility, Around the Bar, February, 1987
• The Body Count in the Government War on Lawyers, Around the Bar, November, 1986
• Constitutional Considerations of Federal and State Testimonial Immunity Legislation, 36 Louisiana Law Review 214, 1976
• Lecturer, C.L.E. Programs
• Adjunct Professor, Paul M. Hebert School of Law, Louisiana State University, 2002 - Present
• Fear of a Paper Tiger: Enforcing Louisiana’s Procedural and Statutory Rules in the Wake of Harmless Error Analysis, 64 Louisiana Law Review 1, Fall, 2003

Honors

• Class of 1950, Scholarship, Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Spring 1974
• IJLA Honors 5 Leaders of the Innocence Movement For our 25th Anniversary, we are honoring two groups of people with our Impact Award, in recognition of decades of work to advance the innocence movement and help free and exonerate our clients.  The first Impact Award recipients are Jim Boren, Jancy Hoeffel, and Rick Schroeder, whom we are recognizing for their years-long service to IJLA as the members of our Case Review Panel. The Case Review Panel independently vets all cases of post-conviction innocence in which we plan to enroll. For more than 20 years, their diligent review and invaluable expertise have helped us maintain our record of freeing or exonerating every post-conviction innocence client we represent., Innocence and Justice of Louisiana, https://justicelouisiana.org/ijla-gala-2026/, 2026
• Champion of Justice Awards are bestowed upon those individuals who – through legislative, journalistic, philanthropic, or humanitarian pursuits – have staunchly preserved or defended the constitutional rights of individuals in the United States and have endeavored to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime., Champion of Justice Award by National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, https://www.nacdl.org/Content/ChampionofJusticeAwards, 2023
• AV Preeminent* peer-review rating through Martindale-Hubbell
• National Directory of Criminal Defense Lawyers
• Flory Criminal Trial Competition, Finalist, Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, 1975
• First in Class, Order of the Coif, Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center
• Best Lawyers
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Justice Albert Tate, Jr., 2000 - Present
• Recipient, Flory Trial Competition, 1st Place, Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center, 1973, 1974
• Phi Kappa Phi, Louisiana State University Paul M. Hebert Law Center
• Martindale Hubbell, Who's Who
• Fellow, American College of Trial Lawyers, 2009 - Present

Awards

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AV Preeminent®: This elite award is granted to attorneys who have been recognized by their peers for their very high ethical standards, with an average peer review score of 4.5 or higher.

“Greatest lawyer and person I have every met!”

“Greatest Attorney I know.”

“Jim is an inspirational attorney to watch both in and out of the courtroom. I am lucky to call him a mentor and friend. He has helped me grow as a practitioner and young attorney, and I hope to be half the attorney that he is one day.”

“Jim Boren is an absolute legend. He has handled more high profile trials in his career than most people can even remember. If you have any question at all about criminal matters, he is a wonderful resource who can fight hard for clients.”