Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:574.15 – Power of elected state, parochial, or municipal officials to parole persons arrested for violation of municipal ordinances
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:574.15
- Arraignment: A proceeding in which an individual who is accused of committing a crime is brought into court, told of the charges, and asked to plead guilty or not guilty.
- 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.
- Committee membership: Legislators are assigned to specific committees by their party. Seniority, regional balance, and political philosophy are the most prominent factors in the committee assignment process.
- 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.
A.(1) Every elected officer of the state or any parish or municipality in the state shall have the power to parole a person who is under arrest and detention for the violation of any criminal or quasi criminal ordinance, not enumerated in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, of any municipality in any parish, within the territorial jurisdiction of the state or parish elected officer, and within the municipality wherein the municipal officer exercises his jurisdiction, whenever any municipality has a population of more than three hundred thousand persons, based on the latest federal decennial census. Nothing in this Subsection shall prohibit or impede judges exercising criminal jurisdiction in district, municipal, or traffic court to fix bail as guaranteed and authorized bythe Louisiana Constitution Article I, Section 18 and Code of Criminal Procedure Article 333.
(2) Persons arrested for any of the following violations of municipal ordinances shall not be eligible for parole by any elected officer, except district court, and municipal court judges exercising criminal jurisdiction but only after compliance with Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 327.1 and 335.1:
(a) Any violations of municipal ordinances defining criminal battery and assault.
(b) Any violations of other municipal ordinances including criminal trespass, criminal damage to property, or disturbing the peace, if they occurred at the arrestee’s residence or if they result from an obvious domestic dispute.
(c) Any violations of Article VII of Chapter 42 of the City Code of the City of New Orleans dealing with domestic violence as enumerated below:
(i) Attempting to cause or causing physical harm to another family or household member.
(ii) Placing another family or household member in fear of physical harm.
(iii) Causing another family or household member to engage in involuntary sexual activity by force, threat of force, or duress.
(iv) Committing one or more of the following crimes against another family or household member:
(aa) Arson, of any grade.
(bb) Assault, of any grade.
(cc) Burglary, of any grade.
(dd) Criminal damage to property.
(ee) Homicide, of any grade.
(ff) Kidnapping, of any grade.
(gg) Sex offenses, of any grade.
(hh) Any offense involving stolen property.
(ii) Any weapon law violation.
(jj) Disorderly conduct.
(kk) Stalking.
(ll) Criminal trespass of property.
(3) The following persons shall not be eligible for parole by any elected officer:
(a) Persons arrested for two or more felony violations.
(b) Persons arrested for five or more misdemeanors or felony arrests.
(c) Persons arrested for illegal possession or carrying of a firearm.
B.(1) Any such officer may notify the parish sheriff or municipal authority detaining such a person that he desires that the person be paroled pending arraignment on his own recognizance. The officer shall notify the parish sheriff or municipal authority detaining said individual. The notice from the officer may be verbal only if the officer is contacted at his residence or office and can state an identifying number or word as may be prescribed for securing proper identification of such officer. Prior to authorizing release, the officer shall be informed of the nature of the charges pending against the intended parolee.
(2) If the officer cannot be contacted at his residence or office, the notice shall be in writing only and on a form supplied by the parish sheriff or municipal authority. The form shall contain a place for the signature of the elected officer, the identification of his elected position, the name of the person paroled, the nature of the charge pending against the person paroled, and the date the parole is requested. This written form shall be signed by the officer and all information called for therein correctly completed and the form delivered to the parish sheriff or the municipal authority either by the officer or on his behalf before any parole request may be honored.
(3) At the time of authorizing a release, the officer shall be informed of the criminal history of the intended parolee. If the authorization is verbal, then the information shall be given verbally. If the authorization is written, then the information shall be contained upon the form supplied by the parish sheriff’s office or municipal authority as indicated in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection.
C.(1) For the purposes of this Section, members of the state central committee, parish executive committees, and municipal executive committees of political parties shall be deemed to be elected state, parochial, or municipal officials, as the case may be, as hereinabove set forth.
(2) For purposes of accurate recordkeeping, each of the committees listed above, shall supply the parish sheriff or municipal authority with a list of membership additions and deletions, to include the names, addresses, phone numbers and other information as requested, within thirty days of any changes in committee membership. If this information is not supplied within thirty days, the membership in question shall not be permitted to exercise any parole powers until five days after such information has been supplied to the proper authorities.
D.(1) No elected official shall have any business arrangement with a bail bonding company.
(2) In any sixty-day period if three persons paroled by an elected official granted parole power, as described in Subsections A and C, fail to appear for arraignment at the appointed time, the parish sheriff or the municipal authority may suspend the parole power of said elected official for a period of sixty days.
Acts 1950, No. 94, §1. Amended by Acts 1963, No. 103, §1; Acts 1983, No. 358, §1; Acts 1989, No. 814, §1; Acts 1995, No. 918, §1; Acts 2004, No. 833, §2; Acts 2005, No. 65, §1; Acts 2011, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 18, §1.