A. A judgment decreeing the forfeiture of a bail undertaking shall not be rendered if it is proven, at or prior to the hearing on a rule to show cause, that the defendant, principal on the bail undertaking, failed to appear in court because of any of the following:
(1) The defendant was serving in the armed forces of the United States.
(2) The defendant was a member of the Louisiana National Guard called to duty pursuant to R.S. 29:7.
(3) The defendant was prevented from appearing due to a state of emergency declared by the governor.
B. There shall be a rebuttable presumption that the calling of the defendant to duty pursuant to R.S. 29:7 prevented the defendant, principal on the bail undertaking, from attending court.
Acts 1983, No. 370, §1; Acts 1993, No. 834, §1, eff. June 22, 1993; Acts 1995, No. 989, §1; Acts 1999, No. 676, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1272, §1; Acts 2010, No. 914, §1; Acts 2016, No. 613, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.