Louisiana Children’s Code 306 – Places of detention; juveniles subject to criminal court jurisdiction
Terms Used In Louisiana Children's Code 306
- Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
- Bail: Security given for the release of a criminal defendant or witness from legal custody (usually in the form of money) to secure his/her appearance on the day and time appointed.
- Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
- 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.
- nonmetropolitan area: means a parish whose largest city has a population of fifty thousand or less and where the population of the entire parish is less than one hundred thousand. See Louisiana Children's Code 301
- Preliminary hearing: A hearing where the judge decides whether there is enough evidence to make the defendant have a trial.
- Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
- Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
A. Prior to the divesting events specified in Paragraphs A and B of Article 305, the child shall be held in custody in a juvenile detention center, except as hereinafter provided.
B. If a detention facility for juveniles is not available, the child may be held in an adult jail or lockup for identification or processing procedures or while awaiting transportation only as long as necessary to complete these activities for up to six hours, except that in nonmetropolitan areas, the child may be held for up to forty-eight hours if all of the following occur:
(1) The child meets the age and offense criteria set out in Article 305.
(2) A continued custody hearing in accordance with Articles 820 and 821 is held within forty-eight hours after his arrest.
(3) There is no acceptable alternative placement to the jail or lockup in which he is being held.
(4) The sheriff or the administrator of the adult jail or lockup has certified to the court that facilities exist providing for sight and sound separation of the juvenile from adult offenders and that he can be given continuous visual supervision while placed in the jail or lockup.
C. If an indictment has not been returned, a bill of information filed, or a continued custody hearing not held within forty-eight hours, the child held in an adult jail or lockup in a nonmetropolitan area shall be released or removed to a juvenile detention facility.
D. If at the conclusion of the continued custody hearing, the court determines that the child meets the age requirements and that there is probable cause that the child has committed one of the offenses enumerated in Article 305, the court shall order him held for trial as an adult for the appropriate court of criminal jurisdiction. The appropriate court of criminal jurisdiction may thereafter order that the child be held in any facility used for the pretrial detention of accused adults and the child shall apply to the appropriate court of criminal jurisdiction for a preliminary hearing, bail, and for any other rights to which he may be entitled under the Code of Criminal Procedure.
E. If for any reason the court determines that the child is not subject to the jurisdiction of the criminal courts, it may continue him in custody only in those places authorized by Article 822.
F. The court authorizing the detention of the child in an adult jail or lockup pursuant to Paragraph B or D of this Article shall submit a written report delineating appropriate reasons for the continued custody to the judicial administrator of the supreme court for review and shall submit copies to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Criminal Justice and to the sheriff or chief of police of the facility in which the child is being detained within seven working days of the court’s decision.
G. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a child who is subject to criminal jurisdiction pursuant to Article 305 and being held in a juvenile detention facility before trial shall be transferred to the appropriate adult facility for continued pretrial detention upon reaching the age of eighteen.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1992, No. 705, §1, eff. July 6, 1992; Acts 2016, No. 501, §2, eff. June 14, 2016; Acts 2023, No. 445, §1, eff. June 28, 2023.