Art. 682 Appointment of substitute for a recused district attorney

If the district attorney in a case can't be involved (either they step aside on their own or a judge removes them), someone else has to take over the case. This rule explains how that happens.

The judge who is handling the case must send a written notice to the attorney general, letting them know the district attorney is out. The attorney general then has to find a replacement. They can either assign someone from their own staff or bring in a district attorney from a different district to handle the case instead.

Once that substitute is appointed, they step fully into the original district attorney's shoes. They have the same authority and responsibilities for that case as the district attorney would have had. This makes sure the case keeps moving forward and someone with full legal authority is still in charge of prosecuting it, even though the original district attorney can't be involved.