What recourse did a Louisiana justice of the peace have if a constable refused a direct order?

Plain-English summary

A justice of the peace reported that a constable refused to attend court and to issue a citation after a complaint. In Opinion 03-0050, the Louisiana Attorney General repeated an earlier opinion's answer for a constable who refuses a direct order: the justice could appoint a special deputy constable to carry out the duty and report the matter to the district attorney for possible malfeasance prosecution.

The letter did not make a criminal finding or say that every failure to act was malfeasance. It described the constable as a peace officer who executed the justice's orders, citations, writs, summonses, and seizures within the district.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. 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.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Justices of the peace

The opinion identified a substitute for duties left undone after a constable refused a direct order: a special deputy constable. It also said the justice could refer the constable to the district attorney for possible prosecution under the cited malfeasance statute.

Constables and district attorneys

The AG framed the referral as one for possible prosecution. He did not resolve the facts of the reported refusal or determine criminal liability.

Common questions

Q: Could the justice appoint someone else to carry out a refused order?
A: The AG repeated his earlier conclusion that the justice could appoint a special deputy constable after a constable refused a direct order.

Q: Did the AG say the constable had committed malfeasance?
A: No. The opinion allowed a report to the district attorney for possible prosecution; it did not decide guilt.

Background and statutory framework

The request described refusal to attend court and to issue a citation. The answer quoted Attorney General Opinion 96-230 on a constable's peace-officer role and on responses to refusal of a direct order. It cited LSA-R.S. 14:134 for possible malfeasance. The original letter does not print a readable issue date, so that field is blank.

Citations and references

Authorities in the opinion: LSA-R.S. 14:134; Atty. Gen. Ops. 02-240, 96-230, 84-830, and 84-399.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0050

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CIVIL DIVISION
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL.: (504) 342-7013
FAX: (504) 342-2090
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

OPINION 03-50
57 - JustP_~s of the Peace
15 - Courts
R.S. 14:134

Mr. A. J. Montalbano
A onsttable v~o does not perform
Justice of the Peace
his duties at the direction of the
Justice of the Peace can be
61261 Anchorage Drive
reported to the District Attorney
Lacombe, LA 70445
for possible rrmffeasance.

Dear Mr. Montalbano:

This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion of the Attorney General in regard to the recourse of a Justice of the Peace to see that the constable performs his duties. You indicate the constable refuses to attend court, and has refused to issue a citation after a complaint was filed by a complainant after witnessing a violation and agreeing to appear.

This office has stated that constables are not classified under the judicial system but are peace officers, Atty. Gen. Ops. 02-240, 96-230, 84-830, 84-399. In Atty. Gen. Op. 96-230, while finding that a constable is considered a peace officer with all the powers of arrest, this office further stated that a constable is employed under the jurisdiction of the court of the Justice of the Peace to execute all orders, citations, writs, summons and seizures issued by the justice of the peace of his district. Therein this office stated as follows:

Therefore, should the constable refuse to act after a direct order by the justice of the peace, the justice of the peace may appoint a special deputy constable to carry out those duties. Moreover, he may report the constable to the District Attorney’s office for possible prosecution under malfeasance pursuant to LSA-R.S. 14:134.

We hope the observations of this earlier opinion sufficiently answers your inquiry.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL’

BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
RPI/bbr
ASSISTANT A’I-I’ORNEY GENERAL