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Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:173

  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • indigent defender: means an attorney employed by or under contract with the board, the office, or a district public defender to provide legal counsel to an indigent person in a criminal proceeding. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:143
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.

            A. It is not the intent of the legislature to create any new right, right of action, or cause of action or eliminate any right, right of action, or cause of action existing under current law. Nothing in the provisions of this Part shall create, expressly or by implication, any right, claim, or cause of action in favor of anyone in connection with the delivery of indigent defender services.

            B. In addition to the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, nothing herein, nor any standards, guidelines, or rules adopted as a result hereof, shall be construed to provide any criminal defendant the basis of any claim that the attorney or attorneys appointed to represent him pursuant to this statute performed in an ineffective manner. It shall be presumptive evidence that any attorney performing criminal defense services pursuant to the auspices of this statute is currently certified to have met the standards and guidelines adopted by the board to provide criminal defense services in an effective manner. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to overrule, expand, or extend, whether directly or by analogy, the decision reached by the United States Supreme Court in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S.Ct. 2052, 80 L.Ed.2d 674 (1984) nor its progeny as adopted by the Louisiana Supreme Court.

            Acts 2007, No. 307, §1; Acts 2008, No. 220, §6, eff. June 14, 2008.