Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 944 – Emergency sessions of court; criteria
Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 944
- Affected court: means any appellate, district, parish, city, municipal, traffic, juvenile, justice of the peace, or family court having jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions and proceedings for which the Louisiana Supreme Court has made a determination that the court shall conduct emergency sessions outside its parish or territorial jurisdiction as provided for by the provisions of this Title. See Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 942
- Appellate: About appeals; an appellate court has the power to review the judgement of another lower court or tribunal.
- Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
- Emergency sessions: means any criminal court proceeding conducted by an affected court as authorized by the provisions of this Title and by order of the Louisiana Supreme Court. See Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 942
- 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.
- Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
A. When the supreme court makes the determination that an appellate, district, parish, city, municipal, juvenile, traffic, justice of the peace, or family court having jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions and proceedings shall conduct proceedings outside its parish or territorial jurisdiction, the supreme court may order emergency sessions of court at a location or locations which are both feasible and practicable outside the parish or territorial jurisdiction of that court. This determination shall be based upon emergency or disaster circumstances, including but not limited to the lack of a readily available alternative location to conduct court within the parish, terrorist events, enemy attack, sabotage, or other hostile action, or from fire, flood, earthquake, or other natural or manmade causes resulting in the displacement of thousands of residents and the destruction of or severe damage to courthouses and other facilities supporting the criminal justice system. In making this determination, the supreme court shall make a reasonable effort to consult with the chief judge, the district attorney, the district public defender, and the clerk of the affected court.
B. The supreme court order requiring emergency sessions of court shall name the affected court, the location or locations in which the emergency sessions of that court shall be conducted, and the date on which emergency sessions shall commence.
Acts 2005, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 52, §1, eff. Dec. 6, 2005; Acts 2007, No. 307, §10.