2016 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 15 - Criminal Procedure
RS 15:571.35.1 - Pilot program; Lafourche Parish Pretrial Home Incarceration Program; electronic monitoring

§571.35.1. Pilot program; Lafourche Parish Pretrial Home Incarceration Program; electronic monitoring

A. Not later than January 1, 2011, the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office may implement a pilot program using, as an alternative mode of incarceration to traditional imprisonment, active electronic monitoring of offenders who are eligible under the provisions of this Section. This pilot program shall be referred to as the Lafourche Parish Pretrial Home Incarceration Program.

B. A defendant may be eligible for participation in the pilot program under the following conditions:

(1) No defendant who has been charged with a crime of violence as defined in R.S. 14:2(B), or with a sex offense as defined in R.S. 15:541, shall be eligible for the pilot program established under the provisions of this Section.

(2) A determination is made by the Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office that the defendant is particularly likely to respond affirmatively to participation in the pilot program.

(3) The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office has interviewed the defendant and has made a risk assessment determination that the defendant is eligible for participation in the pilot program. The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office shall forward the risk assessment to the court for use as the court may deem proper.

C.(1) The Lafourche Parish Sheriff's Office shall develop, adopt, and implement rules and regulations for the development, implementation, and administration of the pilot program.

(2) Such rules and regulations shall include but not be limited to the following:

(a) A defendant in the program shall be supervised and shall be subject to all of the conditions required for participation. The conditions of the pilot program may include any condition reasonably related to the pilot program, including curfew, home visitations by persons designated by the sheriff, and limitations of the defendant's activities outside of the home.

(b) The program shall include the use of electronic monitoring devices.

(c) A defendant may be required to obtain employment and may be required to pay a reasonable supervision fee to the supervising agency to defray the cost of his supervision and the cost of the required electronic monitoring.

(d) A defendant shall be given notice of the conditions imposed in writing, and he shall be required to agree in writing to the conditions.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure Article 880, the defendant may receive credit for time served while participating in the pilot program only with the approval of the sentencing court.

D.(1) No defendant shall be admitted to the pilot program prior to court approval of the defendant's participation in the pilot program.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the court, at any time on its own motion, may prohibit or terminate a defendant's initial or continued participation in the pilot program.

E.(1) The sheriff shall be entitled to collect from the parish governing authority and apply to the funding of the pilot program a sum not less than the per diem fee authorized by R.S. 13:5535(1). In lieu of the per diem, the sheriff may establish a fee which is agreed upon by the parish governing authority and the sheriff. In no event shall those funds be considered surplus funds.

(2) In the case of indigent persons who may be eligible to participate in the pilot program, the sheriff shall establish rules and regulations addressing participation by indigent defendants.

(3) The sheriff may apply for funding and grants from any and all sources he may deem appropriate to develop, design, implement, administer, and evaluate the pilot program.

(4) The sheriff may engage in cooperative endeavor agreements with other government agencies or departments and with any nonprofit organization whose mission is compatible with the goals and objectives of the pilot program.

F. The sheriff may terminate the participation of any defendant in the pilot program who fails to comply with the terms of participation in the program and require the physical return of any defendant terminated from participation in the program to parish jail or such other facility as the sheriff may deem appropriate for the purpose of continuing his pretrial detention.

G. With respect to any defendant in the pilot program, neither the sheriff nor the parish shall be responsible for any medical costs or the provision of medical care, transportation costs or the provision of transportation, housing costs or the provision of housing, food costs or the provision of food, or clothing costs or the provision of clothing to the defendant.

H. Neither the sheriff of Lafourche Parish, nor his deputies and employees, nor the governing authority of Lafourche Parish or its elected or appointed officials, deputies, or employees, nor any party engaged in a cooperative endeavor agreement with the pilot program shall have any liability for the acts of any defendant who is admitted to participation during the time the defendant is participating in the pilot program.

I.(1) The pilot program established pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be evaluated with regard to security, beneficial and detrimental effects on the prisoner, projected probable effects on deterrence, cost, labor intensiveness, and other relevant measures of effectiveness. Such evaluation shall provide the required information on a project basis as well as in comparison with traditional imprisonment.

(2) A report of the evaluation of the program shall be presented to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, the Senate Committee on Judiciary B, and the House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice not later than thirty days prior to the first day of the 2012 Regular Session of the Legislature of Louisiana.

(3) Unless otherwise terminated by appropriate legislative action, the pilot program shall begin a termination process not later than sixty days after the date in which a newly constructed correctional facility in Lafourche Parish is opened and occupied. After that date, no new participants shall be admitted to the program. Those participants in the program prior to that date shall be allowed to continue participation, except as otherwise provided for by this Section, and the program shall be phased out and fully terminated when the number of participants declines to zero.

Acts 2010, No. 821, §1; Acts 2012, No. 71, §1.