RS 57.1 - Failure to honor written promise to appear; penalty; disposition of fines
A. Whenever an arrested person who was released on his written promise to appear before a magistrate at the place and time specified in a summons described in R.S. 32:391(B) fails to honor his written promise to appear, the magistrate or judge of the court exercising jurisdiction may immediately forward to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections notice of the failure to appear, with information necessary for identification of the arrested person. Thereupon, unless the original charges have been disposed of, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall immediately notify the arrested person of suspension of his operator's license and the imposition of a fifty-dollar fee, regardless of the disposition of the original charge. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections likewise shall inform the arrested person that his operator's license cannot be renewed or reissued until the forwarding court exercising jurisdiction certifies that he had honored the appearance promise or paid an appropriate fine for the offense as determined by the forwarding court exercising jurisdiction.
B. Whenever the arrested person makes an appearance as required by Subsection A hereof or pays an appropriate fine for the offense committed, as determined by the court, the prosecuting authority shall immediately notify the Department of Public Safety and Corrections thereof. Upon such notification and payment of an additional fifty dollars to the department, the operator's license of the arrested person shall be renewed or reissued for the purpose of this Section. Twelve dollars and fifty cents of the additional fine imposed by this Section shall be paid to the court exercising jurisdiction, to be deposited in that court's criminal court fund and to be used in the same manner as the other sums deposited in said fund.
C. If after sixty calendar days from the date of the notification issued by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections as required in Subsection A of this Section the arrested person has failed to comply, the fees provided for in this Section shall be considered final delinquent debt.
Added by Acts 1978, No. 301, §2. Amended by Acts 1980, No. 779, §1; Acts 1984, No. 763, §1; Acts 1988, No. 180, §1; Acts 1995, No. 114, §1; Acts 2003, No. 966, §1; Acts 2015, No. 414, §1; Acts 2018, No. 714, §1.