Lou Olivera currently serves as a District Court Judge for Judicial District 14. He was first elected in 2012 and is serving his fourth term.

Prior to his role as a district court judge, Lou was the owner and principal attorney at Attorney Luis J. Olivera, PC and the chairman of the Fayetteville Public Works Commission. He has been an adjunct professor at Methodist University and Fayetteville Technical Community College. He also served as an assistant district attorney and private investigator. He was a Counterintelligence Special Agent in the US Army from 1989 to 1993 and continued in the reserve until 1997.

Lou has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and a law degree from Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law. He volunteers as a board member of the Airborne & Special Operations Museum Foundation and the Governor's Advisory Council on Hispanic/Latino Affairs.