Art. 321. Partial reimbursement by indigent adults
A. To the extent that a person is financially able to provide for an attorney, other necessary services and facilities of representation, and court costs, the court shall order him to pay for these items. The court may order payment in installments or in any manner which it believes reasonable and compatible with the person's financial ability.
B. Any payments shall be transmitted to and become a part of the public defender fund of the district in which the proceeding is pending.
C. When a person, who was initially determined to be indigent and was appointed counsel, subsequently hires private counsel, the court shall conduct a contradictory hearing to determine:
(1) Whether he was in fact indigent when counsel was previously appointed.
(2) What charges were incurred in retaining counsel.
(3) What expenses have been incurred by the district public defender or other appointed counsel.
D. Upon determining the expenses incurred, the court may hold the person liable to the district public defender or other appointed counsel for reimbursement of all or part of those expenses. A judgment for the amount owed may be recorded in the mortgage records and may be enforced as provided by law.
E. If the court finds that the parents are financially able, it may order them to reimburse the appointed counsel or district public defender's office for some or all of the costs of representing the child that are incurred before retained counsel has enrolled as counsel of record.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 2007, No. 307, §9; Acts 2010, No. 593, §1.
Copyright ©2024 LegalFix. All rights reserved. LegalFix is not a law firm, is not licensed to practice law, and does not provide legal advice, services, or representation. The information on this website is an overview of the legal plans you can purchase—or that may be provided by your employer as an employee benefit or by your credit union or other membership group as a membership benefit.
LegalFix provides its members with easy access to affordable legal services through a network of independent law firms. LegalFix, its corporate entity, and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors do not provide legal advice, services, or representation—directly or indirectly.
The articles and information on the site are not legal advice and should not be relied upon—they are for information purposes only. You should become a LegalFix member to get legal services from one of our network law firms.
You should not disclose confidential or potentially incriminating information to LegalFix—you should only communicate such information to your network law firm.
The benefits and legal services described in the LegalFix legal plans are not always available in all states or with all plans. See the legal plan Benefit Overview and the more comprehensive legal plan contract during checkout for coverage details in your state.
Use of this website, the purchase of legal plans, and access to the LegalFix networks of law firms are subject to the LegalFix Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.