Title 22 — Title 22 — Criminal Procedure

If the court or judge is satisfied that the examination of the witness is necessary an order must be made that the witness be examined conditionally at a specified time and place, and that a copy of the order be served on counsel for the opposing party within a specified time bef…

The order must direct that the examination be taken before a magistrate named therein or upon agreement of both the state and defendant before a certified court reporter. The defendant must be present for the examination to proceed, unless the presence of the defendant is waived …

If the district attorney or other counsel appear on behalf of the people, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the magistrate by affidavit or other proof, or on examination of the witness, that he is not about to leave the state, or is not sick or infirm, or that the applicatio…

The attendance of the witness may be enforced by subpoena issued by the magistrate before whom the examination is to be taken, or from the court where the trial is to be had. R.L.1910, § 6032.

The testimony given by the witness must be reduced to writing. The magistrate before whom the examination is had may, in his discretion, order the testimony and proceedings to be taken down in shorthand, and for that purpose he may appoint a shorthand reporter. The deposition or …

questions therein. The deposition or certified copy thereof may be read in evidence by either party on the trial upon its appearing that the witness is unable to attend by reason of his death, insanity, sickness, or infirmity, or of his continued absence from the state. Upon read…

When a material witness for a defendant under a criminal charge is a prisoner in a state prison or in a county jail of a county other than that in which the defendant is to be tried, his deposition may be taken on behalf of the defendant in the manner provided for in the case of …

When an issue of fact is joined upon an indictment or information the defendant may have any material witness residing out of the state examined in his behalf as prescribed in this article and not otherwise. R.L.1910, § 6036.

testimony. When a material witness for the defendant resides out of the state the defendant may apply for an order that the witness be examined on a commission to be issued under the seal of the court, and the signature of the clerk, directed to some party designated as commissio…

Application must be made upon affidavit stating: 1. The nature of the offense charged. 2. The state of the proceedings in the action and that an issue of the fact has been joined therein. 3. The name of the witness and that his testimony is material to the defense of the action. …

The application may be made to the court or judge himself, and must be upon five (5) days' notice to the district attorney. R.L.1910, § 6039.

If the court or the judge to whom the application is made, is satisfied of the truth of the facts stated and that the examination of the witness is necessary to the attainment of justice, an order must be made that a commission be issued to take his testimony, and the court or ju…

When the commission is ordered, the defendant must serve upon the district attorney, without delay, a copy of the interrogatories to be annexed thereto, with three (3) days notice of the time at which they will be presented to the court or judge. The district attorney may in like…

Unless the parties otherwise consent by an endorsement upon the commission, the court or judge must endorse thereon the direction and manner in which it must be returned, and may in his discretion direct that it be returned by mail or otherwise, addressed to the clerk of the cour…

The commissioner, unless otherwise specially directed, may execute the commission as follows: 1. He must administer an oath to the witness that his answers given to the interrogatories shall be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. 2. He must cause the examination…

If the commission and return be delivered by the commissioner to an agent, he must deliver the same to the clerk to whom it is directed, or to the judge of the court in which the action is pending, by whom it may be received and opened upon the agent making affidavit that he rece…

If the agent is dead, or from sickness or other cause is unable personally to deliver the commission and return as prescribed in the last section, it may be received by the clerk or judge from any other person, upon his making an affidavit that he received it from the agent, that…

The clerk or judge receiving and opening the commission and return must immediately file it, with the affidavit mentioned in the last two sections, in the office of the clerk of the court in which the indictment or information is pending. If the commission and return is transmitt…

The commission and return must at all times be open to the inspection of all persons, who must be furnished a copy of the same, or any part thereof, on payment of his fees. R.L.1910, § 6047.

Depositions taken under a commission may be read in evidence by either party on the trial upon it being shown that the witness is unable to attend from any cause whatever, and the same objections may be taken to a question in the interrogatories, or to the answers in the depositi…

This chapter applies to criminal actions and to all other proceedings in criminal cases which are herein provided for. R.L.1910, § 5542.

1, 1999.

1, 1999.

A. If any person charged with a crime and held in jail solely by reason thereof is not brought to trial within nine (9) months after the initial appearance by the person on the charge, the court shall set the case for immediate review as provided in Section 812.2 of this title, t…

A. Whenever the court finds that a case should be reviewed to determine if the right of an accused to a speedy trial is being protected, the court shall: 1. Issue notice to the district attorney, the accused, and the attorney for the accused that the case will be reviewed by the …

1, 1999.

If the court direct the action to be dismissed, the defendant must, if in custody, be discharged therefrom, or if admitted to bail, his bail is exonerated, or money deposited instead of bail must be refunded to him. R.L.1910, § 6098.

A. The court may either of its own motion or upon the application of the district attorney, upon the furtherance of justice, order an action or indictment to be dismissed; but in that case the reasons of the dismissal must be set forth in the order, which must be entered upon the…

The entry of a nolle prosequi is abolished, and the district attorney cannot discontinue or abandon a prosecution for a public offense, except as provided in the last section. R.L.1910, § 6100.

An order for the dismissal of the action, as provided in this article, is not a bar to any other prosecution for the same offense. R.L.1910, § 6101. R.L.1910, § 6101.

The jury having been impaneled and sworn, the trial must proceed in the following order: 1. If the indictment or information is for a felony, the clerk or district attorney must read it, and state the plea of the defendant to the jury. In other cases this formality may be dispens…

The court must decide all questions of law which arise in the course of the trial. R.L.1910, § 5871.

On the trial of an indictment or information for libel, the jury shall determine the facts under the instructions of the court as in other cases. R.L.1910, § 5872.

On the trial of an indictment or information, questions of law are to be decided by the court, and the questions of fact are to be decided by the jury; and, although the jury have the power to find a general verdict, which includes questions of law as well as of fact, they are bo…

If the indictment or information is for an offense punishable with death, three counsel on each side may argue the case to the jury. If it is for any other offense the court may, in its discretion, restrict the argument to one counsel on each side. R.L.1910, § 5874.

requires acquittal. A defendant in a criminal action is presumed to be innocent until the contrary is proved, and in case of a reasonable doubt as to whether his guilt is satisfactorily shown, he is entitled to be acquitted. R.L.1910, § 5875.

When it appears that a defendant has committed a public offense and there is reasonable ground of doubt in which of two or more degrees he is guilty, he can be convicted of the lowest of such degree only. R.L.1910, § 5877.

When two or more persons are included in the same indictment or information, the court may, at any time before the defendants have gone into their defense, on the application of the district attorney, direct any defendant to be discharged from the indictment or information, that …

codefendant. When two or more persons are included in the same indictment or information, and the court is of opinion that in regard to a particular defendant there is not sufficient evidence to put him on his defense, it must, before the evidence is closed, in order that he may …

discharged. If it appear by the testimony that the facts proved constitute an offense of a higher nature than that charged in the indictment or information, the court may direct the jury to be discharged, and all proceedings on the indictment or information to be suspended, and m…

If an indictment or information for the higher offense is filed within a year next thereafter, he must be tried thereon, and a plea of former acquittal to such last prosecution is not sustained by the fact of the discharge of the jury on the first indictment or information. R.L.1…

If a new indictment or information is not filed for a higher offense within a year, as aforesaid, the court shall again proceed to try the defendant on the original indictment or information. R.L.1910, § 5889.

The court may direct the jury to be discharged where it appears that it has not jurisdiction of the offense, or that the facts as charged in the indictment or information do not constitute an offense punishable by law. R.L.1910, § 5890.

If the jury is discharged because the court has not jurisdiction of the offense charged in the indictment or information, and it appears that it was committed out of the jurisdiction of this state, the court may order the defendant to be discharged, or to be detained for a reason…

county. If the offense was committed within the exclusive jurisdiction of another county of this state, the court must direct the defendant to be committed for such time as it deems reasonable to await a warrant from the proper county for his arrest, or if the offense be a misdem…

warrant from proper county. If the defendant is not arrested on a warrant from the proper county, he must be discharged from custody, or his bail in the action be exonerated, or money deposited instead of bail refunded, as the case may be, and the sureties in the undertaking as m…

If he is arrested, the same proceedings must be had thereon as upon the arrest of a defendant in another county, on a warrant of arrest issued by a magistrate. R.L.1910, § 5894.

If the jury be discharged because the facts as charged do not constitute an offense punishable by law, the court must order that the defendant, if in custody, be discharged therefrom, or, if admitted to bail, that the bail be exonerated, or if he have deposited money instead of b…

If, at any time after the evidence on either side is closed, the court deem it insufficient to warrant a conviction, it may advise the jury to acquit the defendant. But the jury are not bound by the advice, nor can the court, for any cause, prevent the jury from giving a verdict.…

When, in the opinion of the court, it is proper that the jury should view the place in which the offense was charged to have been committed, or in which any other material fact occurred, it may order the jury to be conducted in a body, in the custody of proper officers, to the pl…