Art. 913 Effect of appeal

When the state files an appeal in a criminal case, it puts the court's ruling on hold. The ruling doesn't take effect while the appeal is being decided. But there's one big exception: if the ruling says the defendant should be released, that release still happens even though the state is appealing. The state can't use an appeal to keep someone locked up if a judge has already ordered their release.

When the defendant is the one appealing, the rules work differently. The defendant's sentence still goes into effect right away, even while the appeal is pending. This means if someone is sentenced to jail time, they typically start serving that time during the appeal process. The only way around this is if the defendant is granted bail after conviction, which would let them stay out of custody while the appeal moves forward.