Sencial Sues Jefferson Parish Sheriff Lopinto in Civil Rights Case

A federal court issued a written opinion in Steven Jay Sencial v. Joseph Lopinto III et al. on April 20, 2026.

The docket number and court of record have not been confirmed, but the case names Jefferson Parish Sheriff Joseph Lopinto III as a defendant, which places it almost certainly in the Eastern District of Louisiana.

Sencial is the plaintiff. The defendants include Lopinto in what appears to be a civil rights action — the sheriff's office is a frequent target of Section 1983 claims in that district. The specific claims, the facts alleged, and the relief sought are not yet confirmed from available case data.

The April 20 opinion is the only docketed event in the timeline. Whether the court ruled on a motion to dismiss, a motion for summary judgment, or some other pretrial matter is not yet clear. The opinion's outcome — who won, what was decided — is the central unknown.

No judge assignment is on record. That gap is unusual for an active case with a written opinion already issued, and likely reflects incomplete docket data rather than the actual state of proceedings. A judge signed that opinion; the name just hasn't surfaced here yet.

The case is listed as active. That means whatever the April 20 opinion decided, it did not end the litigation. Either the court resolved a discrete issue and the case continues, or an appeal is pending.

Until the opinion's text is reviewed, the posture stays murky.