AI-assisted research summary: This section lets certain driving-while-intoxicated prosecutions be filed in city, parish, or municipal courts under R.S. 14:98 or a matching local ordinance, but third-or-subsequent-offense cases go only to district court.
§1894.1. Driving while intoxicated, prosecutions for violation required to be filed under general state law; city and municipal courts A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, prosecutions in any city, parish, or municipal court based on or arising out of the operation of a vehicle by a person while intoxicated may be charged and prosecuted under the provisions of R.S. 14:98 or under any applicable city, parish, or municipal ordinance that incorporates the standards, elements, and sentences of the offense of driving while intoxicated contained in R.S. 14:98. Any conviction for a first or second offense or the entry of a plea of guilty and sentence based on such plea or the forfeiture of bail of any person having been charged with a first or second violation of R.S. 14:98 in any such city, parish, or municipal court shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 14:98(D)(1) or (2), whichever is applicable. Any conviction for a first or second offense or the entry of a plea of guilty and sentence based on such plea or the forfeiture of bail of any person having been charged with a first or second violation of the applicable city, parish, or municipal ordinance in any such city, parish, or municipal court shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance and shall constitute a conviction under R.S. 14:98 for purposes of determining the number of prior convictions in a proceeding under R.S. 14:98. B. For purposes of this Section all city, parish, and municipal courts shall have concurrent jurisdiction with the district courts over violations otherwise subject to their jurisdiction provided for by R.S. 14:98, except in those cases wherein the person or defendant is charged as a third or subsequent offender under the provisions of R.S. 14:98(D)(3) or (D)(4), whichever is applicable. If the charge is for a third or subsequent offense, the prosecution shall be had only in the district court and the defendant shall have the right to a trial by jury. However, mayors' courts shall have no jurisdiction whatsoever over violations as provided for by R.S. 14:98, nor to the trial of offenses against municipal ordinances relative to prosecutions on charges of driving while intoxicated. C. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 13:1898 or any other law to the contrary, all fines, forfeitures, and penalties, exclusive of costs, collected in city, parish, and municipal courts for violations of R.S. 14:98 shall be paid into the city treasury or as otherwise provided by law when the prosecution is filed under said Section for a violation occurring within the territorial limits of the city or municipality; however, in the event a violation of R.S. 14:98 is charged and such violation occurred within the territorial limits of a municipality not having a city court, all said fines, forfeitures, and penalties collected by the district court wherein said prosecution is actually brought shall be distributed and disbursed by said court to the governing authority of the municipality within whose boundaries said violation occurred. When such prosecution is brought for a violation occurring outside of the territorial limits of said city or municipality, then said collections shall be payable to the governing authority of the parish or as otherwise provided by law; however, in the case of all such charges filed in a parish court, said funds shall be payable to the parish or as otherwise provided by law. All such charges filed under the provisions of this Section shall be on affidavit and such charges shall be filed and prosecuted by the city attorney or the city prosecutor when said charges are filed because of violations of any city, parish, or municipal ordinance occurring within the territorial limits of the city or municipality and by the district attorney or his representative when said charges are filed because of violations of R.S. 14:98 occurring in or outside of such territorial limits of the city or municipality. Acts 1983, Act No. 77, §1. Acts 1986, No. 594, §1; Acts 1987, No. 303, §1; Acts 2015, No. 444, §1, eff. July 1, 2015; Acts 2018, No. 130, §1.