Louisiana Children’s Code 880 – Right to present evidence and examine witnesses
Terms Used In Louisiana Children's Code 880
- Child: means any person under the age of twenty-one, including an emancipated minor, who commits a delinquent act before attaining seventeen years of age. See Louisiana Children's Code 804
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Insanity: means a mental disease or mental illness which renders the child incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong with reference to the conduct in question, as a result of which the child is exempt from criminal responsibility. See Louisiana Children's Code 804
A. Among other rights guaranteed by Chapter 3 of this Title, at the adjudication hearing the child may introduce evidence, call witnesses, be heard on his own behalf, and cross-examine witnesses called by the state.
B. When a child has contested an adjudication based on his insanity, the members of the sanity commission may be called as witnesses by the court, the child, or the district attorney. Regardless of who calls them as witnesses, the members of the commission are subject to cross-examination by the child, by the district attorney, and by the court.
C. Other evidence pertaining to the defense of insanity at the time of the offense may be introduced at the adjudication hearing by the child and by the district attorney.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §8, eff. Jan. 1, 1992.