2009 Louisiana Laws TITLE 13 Courts and judicial procedure :: RS 13:1904 City courts; destruction of useless records; city court of houma

§1904.  City courts; destruction of useless records; City Court of Houma

A.  The clerk of court may, upon consent of the judge or of the majority of judges in jurisdictions with several divisions, destroy records of any of the following judicial proceedings when such records have been deemed by the presiding judge or judges to have no further use or value: suits on open accounts, tort suits, suits on unsecured notes, suits on promissory notes, suits on chattel mortgages, and suits for eviction of tenants and occupants.  However, such proposed destruction shall only be authorized where ten years have elapsed from the last date of action on the record or records.

B.  No cause of action shall exist against any clerk or judge for the destruction of such records in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

C.  Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A to the contrary, the clerk of the City Court of Houma and the clerk of the City Court of Ruston may, upon consent of the judge or of the majority of judges, if there is more than one city judge, destroy records of judicial proceedings involving suits for eviction of tenants and occupants when such records have been deemed by the presiding judge or judges to have no further use or value.  However, such proposed destruction shall only be authorized where two years have elapsed from the last date of action on the record or records when the suit is not appealed or two years have elapsed after all appeals are exhausted.

D.  The clerk of the City Court of Houma and the clerk of the City Court of Ruston may, upon consent of the judge or of the majority of judges, if there is more than one city judge, destroy records of criminal proceedings involving misdemeanor convictions when such records have been deemed by the presiding judge or judges to have no further use or value.  However, such proposed destruction shall only be authorized where ten years have elapsed from the date of the judgment of conviction when the conviction is not appealed or two years have elapsed after all appeals are exhausted.  The provisions of this Subsection shall not apply to a conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

E.  The destruction of criminal records authorized by Subsection D of this Section, may only be destroyed after the clerk of court's office has scanned the records onto an optical disc for storage.

Acts 1985, No. 313, §1; Acts 2003, No. 613, §1; Acts 2006, No. 197, §1.