Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 311 – Definitions
Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 311
- Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
- Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
- 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.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- 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.
- 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.
- Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
For the purpose of this Title, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Bail is the security given by a person to assure a defendant‘s appearance before the proper court whenever required.
(2) An appearance is a personal appearance before the court or the court’s designee, where the charges are pending.
(3) A surrender is the detention of the defendant at the request of the surety by the officer originally charged with his detention on the original commitment. When the surety has requested the surrender of the defendant, the officer shall acknowledge the surrender by a certificate of surrender signed by him and delivered to the surety.
(4) A constructive surrender is the detention of the defendant in another parish of the state of Louisiana or a foreign jurisdiction under the following circumstances:
(a) A warrant for arrest has been issued for the defendant in the jurisdiction in which the bail obligation is in place.
(b) The surety has provided proof of the defendant’s current incarceration to the court in which the bail obligation is in place, to the prosecuting attorney, and to the officer originally charged with the defendant’s detention.
(c) The surety agrees to pay reasonable or actual costs of returning the defendant to the jurisdiction where the warrant for arrest was issued. If the surety fails to pay a set amount of the reasonable or actual costs, the recovery shall be through a summary proceeding against both the principal and the surety, as provided in Code of Civil Procedure Article 2592(4).
(5) A surety’s motion and affidavit for issuance of warrant may be filed when the defendant is found incarcerated in a foreign jurisdiction and a warrant has not been issued by the court or in which the bail obligation is in place. In such instances, the surety may file a motion with the court requesting a warrant be issued when the following conditions have been met:
(a) There has been a breach of the bail undertaking.
(b) The surety provides proof of the defendant’s current incarceration outside of the state of Louisiana. The defendant’s incarceration may be used as evidence of a breach of the bail undertaking.
(c) The defendant did not have written permission from the court to leave the state of Louisiana.
(d) Upon presentation of evidence of the breach of the bail undertaking, the court may issue a warrant for the defendant’s violation of the conditions of the bail undertaking.
(e) The surety may then file the constructive surrender in accordance with this Article and Article 331.
(6) A personal surety is a natural person domiciled in the state of Louisiana who owns property in this state that is subject to seizure and is of sufficient value to satisfy, considering all his property, the amount specified in the bail undertaking. The value of the property shall exclude the amount exempt from execution, and shall be over and above all other liabilities including the amount of any other bail undertaking on which he may be principal or surety. If there is more than one personal surety, then the requirements shall apply to the aggregate value of their property. A personal surety shall not charge a fee or receive any compensation for posting a bail undertaking. A bail undertaking of a personal surety may be unsecured or secured.
(7) Bail enforcement is the apprehension or surrender by a natural person of a principal who is released on bail or who has failed to appear at any stage of the proceedings to answer the charge before the court in which the principal may be prosecuted.
(8) A bail enforcement agent is a licensed bail agent who engages in the apprehension or surrender by a natural person of a principal who is released on bail or who has failed to appear at any stage of the proceedings to answer the charge before the court in which the principal may be prosecuted.
(9) The originating jurisdiction is the jurisdiction where the warrant for the arrest was issued and where the charges are pending.
(10) The executing jurisdiction is the jurisdiction where the defendant is arrested and incarcerated on a warrant for arrest.
(11) Electronic bond is a commercial bail bond contract executed digitally as security given by a surety to assure a defendant’s appearance before the proper court whenever required.
Acts 2016, No. 613, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; Acts 2020, No. 267, §1; Acts 2021, No. 197, §1; Acts 2021, No. 243, §1; Acts 2024, No. 222, §1; Acts 2024, No. 564, §1.