Terms Used In Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 354

  • Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
  • Custody: as used in this Title means detention or confinement as a result of or incidental to an instituted or anticipated criminal proceeding. See Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure 351
  • Habeas corpus: A writ that is usually used to bring a prisoner before the court to determine the legality of his imprisonment. It may also be used to bring a person in custody before the court to give testimony, or to be prosecuted.
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.

The court to which the application is presented shall immediately grant a writ of habeas corpus, unless it appears by the petition itself or by the documents annexed to it that the person in custody is not entitled to be set at liberty.  The writ may issue at any time on any day, in term time or vacation, and shall fix the place and time for the answer, which shall be as early as practicable, and shall not exceed seventy-two hours from the time of the issuance of the writ.

Amended by Acts 1968, No. 139, §1; Acts 1980, No. 429, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 1981.