Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:1908 – Rapides Parish; criminal matters; additional costs for CASA programs
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 13:1908
- Clerk of court: An officer appointed by the court to work with the chief judge in overseeing the court's administration, especially to assist in managing the flow of cases through the court and to maintain court records.
- Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
- En banc: In the bench or "full bench." Refers to court sessions with the entire membership of a court participating rather than the usual quorum. U.S. courts of appeals usually sit in panels of three judges, but may expand to a larger number in certain cases. They are then said to be sitting en banc.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
A. In Rapides Parish, in all criminal cases, including traffic offenses, of which the city court has jurisdiction, there shall be assessed as additional costs against every defendant who is convicted after trial or who pleads guilty or forfeits bond the sum of five dollars, which shall be in addition to all other fines, costs, or forfeitures lawfully imposed and which shall be transmitted to the clerk for further disposition in accordance herewith.
B. The clerk of court shall place all sums collected or received under this Section in a separate account, to be expended on order of the judges of the court, en banc, for the support of court-appointed special advocate (CASA) programs in the territorial jurisdiction of the court. The court shall cause to be conducted annually an audit of the fund and the books and accounts relating thereto and shall file the same with the office of the legislative auditor where it shall be available for public inspection.
Acts 1997, No. 854, §1; Acts 2011, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 38, §1.