TITLE 42. PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

CHAPTER 21. REMOVAL OF PUBLIC OFFICERS BY SUIT

42:1412      Method for removal

 A. For conviction of a felony any public officer shall be removed by judgment of the district court of the district in which he is domiciled. The district attorney of that judicial district shall institute the suit within ten days after the conviction is final and all appellate review of the original trial court proceedings is exhausted. Suits against the attorney general shall be brought in the Nineteenth Judicial District by the district attorney of that district, and suits against a district attorney shall be brought by the attorney general.

 B. An action instituted pursuant to R.S. 42:1411 and R.S. 42:1412 is civil in nature; shall be prosecuted in accordance with the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Civil Procedure, except as otherwise provided in this Section; and shall be tried by preference over all other matters in a summary proceeding.

 C. A hearing on the petition for removal shall be held not more than twenty days after service upon the public officer whose removal is sought. Judgment shall be rendered in the matter within ten days after the removal hearing. Within five days after the signing of the judgment, either party may appeal suspensively by obtaining an order of appeal and posting bond for a sum fixed by the court to secure the payment of costs. The trial judge shall fix the return day at a time not to exceed five days after the granting of the order of appeal. An application to the supreme court for a writ of certiorari may be made only within three days after the signing of judgment by the court of appeal. Each appellate court to which the action is brought shall place the matter on its preferential docket, shall hear it without delay, and shall render a decision within ten days after oral argument. The granting of an order of appeal or writ of certiorari suspends the effect of the judgment during the pendency of such proceedings.

 D. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, an appeal of a felony conviction in a state court of a public officer shall be given preference over other criminal appeals.

Added by Acts 1976, No. 628, Sec. 1. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 601, Sec. 1.