With the creation of the system of parish government in Louisiana in 1807 the "administrative functions were vested in a body comprised of the parish judge, the justices of the peace, and a jury of twelve inhabitants appointed by [the judge]." Following statehood the Legislature, by act of March 25, 1813, provided that each parish be divided into wards, with each ward to elect a representative to serve a two-year term on the Police Jury. The juries were to meet in July of each year at the parish seat, with the parish judge as president and the justices of the peace as his associates. Police Juries were empowered to regulate a wide range of activities, from police of the slaves to the building of roads and bridges and the levy of taxes in support of such public works.

The 1813 act specified that the Orleans Parish jury would have no jurisdiction within the city of New Orleans. This meant that it was to function only in the unincorporated portions of the parish. There existed continuous debate as to just what was part of the city and what was unincorporated, although the latter area was generally recognized to include the Lakefront area, Gentilly, eastern New Orleans, the right bank of the river, and all of the land that became Jefferson Parish by legislative act in 1825. An act of March 10, 1834 attempted to clarify some of the confusion as to the authority of the Orleans Parish Police Jury.

An act of January 31, 1827 required that masters desiring to emancipate their slaves had to petition the parish judge, who in turn submitted the matter to the Police Jury. If three-quarters of the Jury, plus the judge, approved the petition, the master was allowed to go about meeting the existing civil requirements for emancipation. An act of March 28, 1840 separated the right bank of the river from the authority of the Jury, creating a new Police Jury of the Parish of Orleans on the right bank of the River Mississippi. The act of May 27, 1846 abolished the Police Jury for the left bank of the river and ordered all papers, property, and monies belonging to the Jury to be transferred to the General Council of the city of New Orleans.