Rule Text
A. On motion of the district attorney, the child, or on its own motion, the court may conduct a transfer hearing. Such motion may be filed at any time following the filing of a delinquency petition but shall be heard prior to the adjudication hearing or acceptance of an admission to the delinquency petition.
B. Notice in writing of the time, place, and purpose of the hearing shall be given to the child and his parents and other custodian, if any, at least ten days before the hearing. In addition, if the petition charges the child with second degree kidnapping, aggravated or first degree rape, or forcible or second degree rape, the court shall inform the child regarding the applicable registration and duration requirements in Chapter 3-B of Title 15 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
Amendment history: Acts 1991, No. 235, §8, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 634, §1, eff. June 15, 1993; Acts 2010, No. 594, §1; Acts 2015, No. 184, §8.
Plain-English Summary (for reference only — not a substitute for the rule text above)
This summary is not the rule. The rule text controls.
When a child is facing a delinquency case, either the district attorney, the child, or the judge can ask for a special hearing called a transfer hearing. This hearing decides whether the child's case should be moved out of juvenile court, usually to be handled in adult court instead. This request can be made any time after the delinquency case starts, but the hearing has to happen before the child goes to trial or admits to the charges.
Everyone involved has to get fair warning before this hearing takes place. The child, and the child's parents or guardian, must receive written notice at least ten days ahead of time. This notice needs to explain when and where the hearing will happen and what it's about.
If the child is charged with certain serious crimes, like second degree kidnapping or specific types of rape, the court has an extra duty. The judge must tell the child about sex offender registration rules that could apply later, based on Louisiana law. This way, the child understands the possible long-term consequences connected to these particular charges.
