About
Judge Holmes
A New Orleans native. Two decades a trial lawyer. Five years on the bench. The full story of the judge Section D already has.
Presided
20 Years a Trial Lawyer.
5 Years On the Bench.
Prosecution. Capital defense. Federal practice. Now Section D.
Judge Kimya M. Holmes is a New Orleans native, a 1992 graduate of Eleanor McMain Magnet School, and a 2000 graduate of Southern University Law Center. Elected to the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court bench in 2020, she took office in 2021 and now seeks re-election after a first term marked by sustained trial work, demanding caseloads, and a record of measured, principled rulings.
Before the robe, there was the work. Judge Holmes spent two decades as a trial lawyer before taking the bench. She began at the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office under former District Attorney Harry Connick, screening and prosecuting matters from Hurricane Katrina-related contractor fraud to homicides, rapes, and armed robberies. She later joined the Capital Defense Project of Southeast Louisiana as a senior staff attorney, representing indigent clients facing first-degree murder charges across the State of Louisiana. She was among the select group of Louisiana attorneys qualified to serve as First Chair in capital cases.
On the bench, she has done what experience makes possible. More than 100 jury trials presided since 2021. More criminal jury trials than any judge in the State of Louisiana in 2024 and 2025. Section D runs a high-risk, high-need Drug Court program and carries the second-lowest jail population in Criminal District Court. That is what a working bench looks like.
Recognition followed the work. Judicial Wall of Fame honoree, 2024. 2022 commencement speaker at her alma mater, Eleanor McMain Magnet School. Federal CJA Panel for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Faculty, National College for Capital Voir Dire. Chair, Louisiana Certified Shorthand Reporter Board. Bar Examination Grader. Founder, Krewe of Themis. 2024 Queen, Krewe of Freret. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
What Shaped
Judge Holmes
New Orleans
Born & Raised
Judge Holmes grew up in New Orleans. She went to school here. She raises her family here. When she walks into Criminal District Court, she is not visiting. She is home.
Eleanor McMain
Magnet, 1992
A graduate of one of New Orleans’ most rigorous public magnet schools, and the 2022 commencement speaker who returned to address the students who walk the halls she walked.
Southern Law
Center, 2000
A 2000 graduate of Southern University Law Center, where the tradition of legal service to the community is foundational. She brought that grounding into every courtroom that followed.
Krewes, Sorority,
& Community
Founder of the Krewe of Themis. 2024 Queen, Krewe of Freret. Member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. The commitment to community that informs every ruling from Section D.