RS 1132 - Pre-sentence investigations
A. If a defendant is convicted of an offense, the court may order a pre-sentence investigation in accordance with the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure Article 875. This investigation shall undertake educational, medical, physical fitness, psychiatric, and social studies of the defendant.
B. The Department of Corrections or, with court approval, the pre-sentence and probation officers of the various courts are hereby authorized to enter into contracts with professional personnel to perform the tests. The report of the investigation shall make recommendations to the court as to the rehabilitation potential of the defendant, the stages required to make the defendant useful and productive, and as to whether the defendant should be placed on probation and the terms thereof or whether the defendant should be committed to a community rehabilitation center or prison, or to the Department of Corrections for assignment to an appropriate penal or correctional facility.
C. The court may postpone sentence until this report is received.
D. Any expenses of these tests may be assessed and taxed as costs and shall be payable by the defendant benefiting by them. An additional civil action to collect these costs shall not prescribe for five years.
Acts 1970, No. 441, §1; Acts 1983, No. 641, §1.