CCRP 345 - Surrender of defendant
Art. 345. Surrender of defendant
A. A surety may surrender the defendant or the defendant may surrender himself, in open court or to the officer charged with his detention, at any time prior to forfeiture or within the time allowed by law for setting aside a judgment of forfeiture of the bail bond. For the purpose of surrendering the defendant, the surety may arrest him. Upon surrender of the defendant, the officer shall detain the defendant in his custody as upon the original commitment and shall acknowledge the surrender by a certificate signed by him and delivered to the surety. The officer shall retain and forward a copy of the certificate to the court. After compliance with the provisions of Paragraph F of this Article, the surety shall be fully and finally discharged and relieved, as provided for in Paragraphs C and D of this Article, of all obligations under the bond.
B. If the defendant is incarcerated by the officer originally charged with his detention at any time prior to forfeiture or within the time allowed by law for setting aside a judgment for forfeiture of the bail bond, the surety may apply for and receive from any officer in charge of any facility in the state of Louisiana or a foreign jurisdiction charged with the detention of the defendant a letter verifying that the defendant is incarcerated, but only after the surety verifies to the satisfaction of the officer charged with the detention of the defendant as to the identity of the defendant. After compliance with the provisions of Paragraph F of this Article, the surety shall be fully and finally discharged and relieved, as provided for in Paragraphs C and D of this Article, of all obligations under the bond.
C. When a surety receives either a certificate of surrender provided for in Paragraph A of this Article or a letter of verification as provided for in Paragraph B of this Article, the surety shall pay a fee of twenty-five dollars to the officer charged with the defendant's detention for recalling the capias, accepting the surrender or verifying the incarceration, processing the paperwork, and giving the surety a certificate of surrender or a letter of verification of incarceration issued pursuant to this Article after compliance with the provisions of Paragraph F of this Article releasing him from his obligation under the defendant's bond.
D. If during the period allowed for the surrender of the defendant, the defendant is found to be incarcerated in another parish of the state of Louisiana or a foreign jurisdiction, the judgment of bond forfeiture is deemed satisfied if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The defendant or his sureties file a motion within the period allowed for the surrender of the defendant. The motion shall be heard summarily.
(2) The sureties of the defendant provide the court adequate proof of incarceration of the defendant, or the officer originally charged with his detention verifies his incarceration. A letter of incarceration issued pursuant to this Article verifying that the defendant was incarcerated within the period allowed for the surrender of the defendant at the time the defendant or the surety files the motion, shall be deemed adequate proof of the incarceration of the defendant.
(3) The defendant's sureties pay the officer originally charged with the defendant's detention, the reasonable cost of returning the defendant to the officer originally charged with the defendant's detention prior to the defendant's return.
E. At any time prior to forfeiture or within the time allowed by law for setting aside a judgment for forfeiture of the bail bond, the surety may present to the court a certificate of death naming the defendant as the deceased party. The certificate shall be under seal of the authority confirming the defendant's death. Thereafter, the surety shall be fully and finally discharged and relieved of any and all obligation under the bond.
F. When the defendant has been surrendered in conformity with this Article or a letter of verification of incarceration has been issued to the surety as provided for in this Article, the court shall, upon presentation of the certificate of surrender or the letter of verification of incarceration, order that the surety be exonerated from liability on his bail undertaking and shall order any judgment of forfeiture set aside.
G. During the period provided for surrendering the defendant, the surety may request that the officer originally charged with the detention of a felony defendant place the name of the felony defendant into the National Crime Information Center registry. The surety shall pay to that officer a fee of twenty-five dollars for processing the placement. If, after payment of the twenty-five-dollar fee, the name of the defendant is removed from the National Crime Information Center registry without cause during the period provided for surrendering the defendant, the surety shall be relieved of all obligations under the bond.
H. In the case of any fee required under the provisions of this Article, the officer charged with the defendant's detention shall provide the surety with a receipt indicating the amount of the fee collected, the name of the defendant, the purpose of the fee collected, the date and time the defendant was surrendered, the name of the person from whom the fee was collected, and information sufficient to identify any applicable bond.
I. In addition to and notwithstanding any other provision of law, a surety may seek an extension of time to surrender a defendant, or have the judgment of bond forfeiture set aside by filing a motion in the criminal court of record and after contradictory hearing with the district attorney and with proof satisfactory to the court that a fortuitous event has occurred and that the event has made it impossible to perform as required under the contract. A motion seeking relief pursuant to this Paragraph must be filed within three hundred sixty-six days from the date of the fortuitous event, excluding legal delays. The court in its discretion may do any of the following:
(1) Set aside the forfeiture or grant the nullity.
(2) Grant an extension of up to three hundred sixty-six days from the expiration of the initial time period allowed for the surrender of the defendant from the date of the mailing of proper notice of bond forfeiture. If the court grants that extension, judicial interest shall be suspended during that additional time period.
(3) Deny the relief.
J. Regarding bail bond forfeitures for which the notices of bond forfeiture judgments were mailed between February 28, 2005, and September 21, 2005, inclusive, in addition to and notwithstanding any other provision of law, the defendant or the surety may seek an extension of time to surrender a defendant or to have a judgment of bond forfeiture set aside by filing a motion in the criminal court record and after contradictory hearing with the district attorney and with proof satisfactory to the discretion of the court that after reasonable effort to recover the wanted fugitive, the location and return of the wanted fugitive was made impossible by damage sustained during and immediately following Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. Such motion must be filed within three hundred sixty-six days of the date of the storm, the effect of which gives rise to the request for relief excluding legal delays. A motion seeking relief pursuant to this Paragraph must be filed within three hundred sixty-six days from the date of the fortuitous event, excluding legal delays. The court in its discretion may do any of the following:
(1) Set aside the forfeiture or grant the nullity.
(2) Grant an extension of time up to three hundred sixty-six days from the expiration of the initial time period allowed for the surrender of the defendant from the date of the mailing of proper notice of bond forfeiture. If the court grants that extension, judicial interest shall be suspended during that additional time period.
(3) Deny the relief.
Acts 1993, No. 834, §1, eff. June 22, 1993; Acts 1999, No. 325, §1; Acts 1999, No. 759, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1054, §1; Acts 2001, No. 1218, §1; Acts 2004, No. 374, §1; Acts 2006, No. 466, §2, eff. June 15, 2006; Acts 2010, No. 709, §1; Acts 2010, No. 914, §1.