§2500.1. Additional costs; municipal and traffic court probation department; special fund

A. Any defendant, other than an indigent, who pleads guilty or is convicted of an offense by the Municipal and Traffic Court of the city of New Orleans shall be assessed costs not to exceed the sum of fifteen dollars for each offense, such costs to be in addition to any fine, clerk's fees or costs or any other fee or costs provided by law or sentence imposed by the court.

B. When any surety, cash, or other bond posted in the Municipal and Traffic Court of the city of New Orleans guaranteeing the appearance of any defendant in any case in the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans has been forfeited, the surety company or its local agent or its insurance company, or both, for which the agent is writing bail bonds, shall be assessed the added costs provided for in Subsection A of this Section. The forfeiture of any bond referred to in this Subsection shall not be set aside until the above costs have been paid, in addition to the other legal requirements of law having been met for the setting aside of the forfeiture. Costs assessed against sureties and surety companies pursuant to this Section shall be collected and administered in the same manner as that set out in Subsection C of this Section.

C. Costs assessed against defendants pursuant to this Section shall be collected by the clerk of the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans. All sums so collected shall be remitted to the municipal and traffic court judicial administrator who shall deposit such sums in a bank or banks in the city of New Orleans in which deposits are insured or guaranteed by the federal government or any agency thereof. The deposits shall be credited to a special fund to be designated as the Municipal and Traffic Court Probation Department Fund which shall be administered by the judges of the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans.

D. There is hereby created a probation department in the Municipal and Traffic Court of the city of New Orleans which shall be funded from the Municipal and Traffic Court Probation Department Fund along with funds which may be realized from federal or state grants and any other sums which may be appropriated by the council of the city of New Orleans. The purpose of the probation department is to provide staff to monitor the behavior of defendants and to develop a comprehensive probationary service program at the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans, which shall include but not be limited to release on recognizance, restitution, diversionary, and active probation programs.

Added by Acts 1980, No. 814, §1, eff. Aug. 1, 1980; Acts 2011, No. 339, §1; Acts 2014, No. 845, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; Acts 2016, No. 631, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.