Who had to house and pay for North Hodge prisoners charged under state law or local ordinances?

Plain-English summary

North Hodge had no jail and used Jackson Parish's facility. Its mayor asked who had to house people charged with different kinds of offenses and who paid. In 2000, the attorney general's office said the sheriff had to accept people charged with a state criminal statute, felony or misdemeanor, and the parish governing authority paid those incarceration expenses.

For local ordinance charges, the opinion said the sheriff had no general duty to accept the person in the parish jail and the parish was not responsible for related expenses without a contract between the parish and municipality. It placed responsibility for local-ordinance incarceration on the municipality and said North Hodge should arrange jail facilities with the sheriff or a nearby municipality. The opinion also separately noted the sheriff's role as parish law enforcer for parish-ordinance charges.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Municipal mayors at the time

The opinion placed responsibility for local-ordinance incarceration on the municipality in the absence of a parish contract. For North Hodge, which had no jail, it identified contracting with the sheriff or a nearby municipality as a way to arrange facilities.

Parish sheriffs at the time

The office said a sheriff had to accept people charged with state criminal statutes. It did not impose the same automatic jail-acceptance duty for a local ordinance charge, though it noted the sheriff's parish law enforcement role.

Parish governing authorities at the time

The opinion assigned the costs of incarcerating state-law defendants to the parish. It said local-ordinance incarceration expenses did not fall on the parish absent a contract.

Common questions

Q: Did Jackson Parish's sheriff have to accept North Hodge arrests for state crimes?
A: Yes. The opinion said the sheriff had to accept people charged with state felonies or misdemeanors, with incarceration costs paid by the parish governing authority.

Q: Who paid for a local-ordinance prisoner?
A: The opinion placed responsibility on the municipality absent a contract assigning parish involvement.

Q: What could North Hodge do without its own jail?
A: The office said jail facilities should be arranged through a contract with the sheriff or another nearby municipality.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 33:4715 required the parish police jury to provide a jail, and La. R.S. 15:704 made the sheriff its keeper. The office read these duties with case law and prior opinions to distinguish state criminal charges from local ordinance charges. It addressed both incarceration responsibility and expense allocation.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 33:4715 (parish jail provision)
• La. R.S. 15:704 (sheriff as jail keeper)
• Amiss v. Dumas, 411 So.2d 1137 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1982) (parish jail expense responsibility, as cited in the opinion)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0432

Original opinion text

December 1, 2000
OPINION NUMBER 00-432
71 Municipalities
107 Sheriffs
Mayor Travis Hall 90 Police Jury Powers and Functions
Village of North Hodge 84 Parishes
Post Office Box 520
The municipality is responsible for the incarceration of a
Hodge, Louisiana 71247
person charged with violating a municipal or parish ordinance
unless there is an existence a contract for such between the parish governing authority and the municipality.
Dear Mayor Hall:

We received your request for an opinion regarding the responsibility of the parish and/or Village of North Hodge for the expense of housing prisoners. The Village of North Hodge is a Lawrason Act Municipality located in Jackson Parish and does not have its own jail but utilizes the jail located in Jackson Parish.

La. R.S. 33:4715 provides that the police jury of each parish shall provide a good and sufficient jail. La. R.S. 15:704 further provides that the Sheriff shall be the keeper of the public jail of his parish. Our jurisprudence dictates that the Sheriff, as keeper of the parish jail, must accept for incarceration all persons charged with violating a state criminal statute. The parish governing authority is responsible for the expense of establishing, maintaining and operating the jail and is responsible for all expenses incurred in connection with the feeding, clothing, and medical treatment of the prisoners. Amiss v. Dumas, 411 So.2d 1137 (La. App. 1st Cir. 1982). See also, Attorney General Opinion 90-17, 90-427 and 89-234. However, if a person is charged with violating a municipal or parish ordinance, the Sheriff is under no obligation to incarcerate him in the parish jail and likewise the parish governing authority is not responsible for the expenses incurred with the incarceration of such person unless there is a contract for such between the parish governing authority and the municipality. Obviously, the sheriff, as the parish law enforcer, would be responsible for those charged with violating a parish ordinance.

Therefore it is our opinion that those persons charged with a violation of a state criminal statute, felony or misdemeanor, must be accepted by the Sheriff of the parish for incarceration and the expense of such incarceration is the responsibility of the parish governing authority. The municipality is responsible for the incarceration of persons charged with violating a municipal or parish ordinance. Since the Village of North Hodge has no jail facility, arrangements for

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Mayor Travis Hall
Opinion No. 00-432
Page 2

jail facilities should be contracted with the sheriff or with another nearby municipality.

We trust that this adequately responds to your request. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

With kindest regards,

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: ____
TINA VICARI GRANT
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

RPI/TVG/crt

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OPINION NUMBER 00-432

Syllabus

71 Municipalities
107 Sheriffs
90 Police Jury Powers and Functions
84 Parishes

La. R.S. 15:704
La. R.S. 33:4715

The municipality is responsible for the incarceration of a person charged with violating a municipal or parish ordinance unless there is an existence a contract for such between the parish governing authority and the municipality.

Mayor Travis Hall
Village of North Hodge
Post Office Box 520
Hodge, Louisiana 71247

DATE RECEIVED: 10/26/00

DATE RELEASED: December 01, 2000

AUTHOR: TINA VICARI GRANT
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL