Plaquemines Parish deputy sheriffs who testify off duty in certain cases are entitled to witness compensation, and the sheriff’s office must handle withholding, remittance, and payment steps.
§254.9. Compensation of off-duty law enforcement officers; parish of Plaquemines A. Any Plaquemines Parish deputy sheriff required to be present, in his official capacity, to testify in a traffic, criminal, or juvenile case before the Twenty-Fifth Judicial District Court in Plaquemines Parish during any time when such officer is not required to report to work or perform the duties of his office, shall be paid the sum of fifty dollars per case, but not more than one hundred fifty dollars in any one day, regardless of the number of cases for which he is required to be present or whether he actually testified in the case, and which sum shall be paid from those costs of court collected pursuant to R.S. 15:255(D)(1) and (2). B.(1) Witness fees provided for in this Section shall be paid from costs collected in individual cases tried in the Twenty-Fifth Judicial District Court and which shall be assessed as a part of the costs of court to be collected in such cases and shall be collected for each case in which there is a plea of guilty, nolo contendere, or in which there is a conviction. The Twenty-Fifth Judicial District Court judges shall adopt a schedule of costs that shall be applicable in each case before that court to which such costs are applicable. All of such costs shall be placed as they are collected into a special fund that shall be maintained and be administered by the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office. The Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office shall pay out of such fund the witness fees provided in this Section, and any other benefits for the employees of the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office, as deemed appropriate by the sheriff. (2) The judges shall, as the needs of the special fund require, adjust the schedule of the costs to insure that the proceeds are adequate to fully pay the witness fees required by this Section. C. If the sheriff elects to pay the deputy sheriff overtime for the court appearance, the sum paid by the Plaquemines Parish sheriff's office shall be the witness fee, which shall be paid from the costs of court collected pursuant to the provisions of Paragraphs (B)(1) and (2) of this Section. D. The Plaquemines Parish sheriff's office shall be responsible for calculating and withholding all requisite deductions for taxes derived from the deputy sheriff's response to the subpoena and for transferring or remitting all sums of employee withholdings to the appropriate taxing authorities, on behalf of the deputy and, within thirty days after receipt of the funds, for making payment of the appropriate net amount to the deputy. E.(1) Compensation allowed law enforcement officers as witnesses in accordance with the provisions of this Section where the sheriff elects to pay overtime shall constitute the normal compensation paid to such law enforcement officers for the performance of the duties of their jobs when earning overtime pay, the payment of such overtime shall be taken into consideration in determining the salary, any salary increase, or any supplemental pay by the state to which any law enforcement officer is or becomes entitled. (2) The maximum allowable fee to be received by an officer on any given day when he is summoned in an off-duty status will be the amount of his normal overtime pay, no matter how many summons he receives for that specific day. Said sum shall be in addition to any other compensation the law enforcement officer is eligible to receive. (3) If the sheriff elects not to pay overtime compensation any such fees received by the law enforcement officers as witnesses in accordance with the provisions of this Section shall not be deemed to be in lieu of, or to constitute any portion of, the salary or compensation paid to such law enforcement officers for the performance of the duties of their jobs, nor shall the payment of such witness fees be taken into consideration in determining the salary, any salary increase or any supplemental pay by the state to which any law enforcement officer is or becomes entitled. F. As a condition precedent to receipt of the compensation provided in this Section, the law enforcement officer and his superior shall be required to certify to the payroll office of the Plaquemines Parish sheriff's office that the officer was summoned to testify on a day while he was off-duty and did in fact appear in court as commanded in the subpoena. Acts 2007, No. 375, §1, eff. July 10, 2007; Acts 2010, No. 567, §1.