§2496.3. First appearance hearing officer; appointment; salary; qualifications

A. There is hereby created the office of first appearance hearing officer of the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans.

B. There shall be only one first appearance officer. The first appearance hearing officer shall be appointed by a majority of the duly elected judges of the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans and shall be subject to removal at will by a majority of the judges of the court. The court shall adopt such rules as are necessary to define the functions, duties, and operational procedures of the office of the first appearance hearing officer.

C. The first appearance hearing officer shall be an attorney at law, licensed to practice law in the state of Louisiana, shall not be less than thirty years of age, shall have practiced law in this state for at least five years preceding appointment to office, and shall be a duly qualified elector of the parish of Orleans.

D. The first appearance hearing officer shall receive an annual salary in accordance with the unclassified pay plan for officers and employees in the unclassified service of the city of New Orleans at pay range 66, subject to the general rules applicable to the unclassified service and to the unclassified pay plan as a whole. The salary shall be payable to the first appearance hearing officer upon his own warrant, payable by the city of New Orleans. The first appearance hearing officer may be reimbursed for expenses of office as provided for by court rule.

E. The judges of the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans, sitting en banc, and the city of New Orleans shall provide necessary support services and personnel, including minute clerks and court reporters, for the office. The supporting services and personnel shall be paid for by the city of New Orleans.

F. Quarters necessary for the conduct of the office of the first appearance hearing officer shall be provided by the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans. The first appearance hearing officer may hold hearings at the facilities where city prisoners are incarcerated.

G. The first appearance hearing officer shall have all such powers and duties not inconsistent with the constitution and laws of this state, the constitution and laws of the United States, and the rules of the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans, and the duties assigned to the hearing officer by the judges of that court, including the following powers and duties:

(1) To administer oaths and affirmations.

(2) To take acknowledgments and affidavits.

(3) To sign orders including issuance of peace bonds and protective orders for cases triable in the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans.

(4) To fix bail or otherwise exercise the power of parole as provided for in R.S. 15:574.15.

(5) To fine and punish for contempt of court in the same manner as a judge of the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans as provided for in Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 20 through 25.

(6) To fix bail.

(7) To impose sentence.

H. Repealed by Acts 2003, No. 589, §2.

Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 122, §1; Acts 2003, No. 589, §§1 and 2; Acts 2014, No. 845, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; Acts 2016, No. 631, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.