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Your Shreveport Criminal Defense Attorney
A criminal case arising in Shreveport proceeds through a system genuinely unlike most states’: Louisiana’s civil-law roots, its parish-based structure, and its own distinct statutory citation format all shape how a case actually unfolds. The details of bail, the right to counsel, and Louisiana’s own approach to sentencing are covered further down this page. A local attorney who works in Caddo Parish regularly can matter here, since Louisiana’s own rules aren’t the same as what a case would look like in a common-law state.
Bail and Pretrial Release in Caddo Parish
Louisiana doesn’t set bail off a fixed schedule tied only to the charge: under La. C.Cr.P. art. 316, a judge has to weigh the seriousness of the offense, the weight of the evidence, the defendant’s criminal history, the danger release would pose to any other person or the community, and whether the defendant voluntarily participates in pretrial drug testing. Whether the defendant is already out on bail for a pending felony arrest is also a factor the court has to consider. Once bail is set, it can be posted as a cash bond paid straight to the court, which is refundable when the case ends, or as a commercial surety bond through a licensed bail bondsman, whose premium is fixed by law at 12% of the bond’s face amount or $120, whichever is greater, and isn’t refundable once the bond is posted (La. R.S. 22:1443).
How Fast an Attorney Has to Be Appointed
Louisiana’s right-to-counsel deadline is uniform statewide, not tied to a parish’s population the way some states scale it: under La. C.Cr.P. art. 230.1, an arrested person has to be brought before a judge within 72 hours for the purpose of appointing counsel, with Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays excluded from that count. If that 72-hour appearance doesn’t happen, the arrested person has to be released on their own recognizance. The attorney appointed at that hearing comes from the district public defender’s office, one of which the Louisiana Public Defender Board maintains in each of the state’s 42 judicial districts under La. R.S. 15:161, and having one appointed doesn’t prevent hiring private counsel later if that becomes an option.
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How Louisiana Actually Defines a Felony
Unlike states that sort felonies into lettered or numbered severity classes, Louisiana defines a felony by what punishment is possible, not a category: La. R.S. 14:2 sets the line at death or imprisonment at hard labor, with everything else a misdemeanor. A felony class system was proposed and studied but never actually adopted, so nearly every one of Louisiana’s roughly 600 Title 14 offenses still has its own specific, individually-legislated penalty.
Theft, Battery, Drug Charges, and OWI in Louisiana
A theft charge in Louisiana is graded entirely by value under La. R.S. 14:67: below $1,000 is a misdemeanor, but the felony tiers above that escalate fast, up to 5 years for $1,000 to under $5,000, up to 10 years for $5,000 to under $25,000, and up to 20 years at hard labor for $25,000 or more, with fines climbing alongside each tier. Not all battery charges in Louisiana carry the same weight: a simple battery under La. R.S. 14:35 is a misdemeanor capped at 6 months, while the presence of a dangerous weapon moves it to aggravated battery under La. R.S. 14:34, up to 10 years. Domestic abuse battery under La. R.S. 14:35.3 is its own, more serious track entirely, with mandatory jail even on a first conviction and a real strangulation enhancement carrying up to 50 years if serious bodily injury results. Not every drug possession charge in Louisiana carries the same weight: under La. R.S. 40:966(E), possessing 14 grams or less of marijuana is only a fine, capped at $100, with no jail exposure at all regardless of how many prior offenses you have. Other Schedule I substances are a different story entirely, carrying up to 10 years at hard labor and a $5,000 fine under the same statute’s general possession provisions. Louisiana’s OWI penalties under La. R.S. 14:98 track the number of prior offenses within a 10-year lookback, not just the current arrest: a first offense stays a misdemeanor, but a third jumps straight to a felony (1 to 5 years, $2,000), and a fourth or later offense can mean 10 to 30 years and a $5,000 fine, with a 0.15% or higher BAC adding mandatory enhancements regardless of which offense number this is. Declining the breath, blood, or urine test doesn’t make the OWI charge go away, and it comes with its own separate penalty under La. R.S. 32:666: a 365-day license suspension on a first refusal, climbing to 2 years for a second or later refusal, with a hardship license unavailable at all if the stop involved a crash resulting in serious injury or death. An ignition interlock device isn’t optional even on a first offense: La. R.S. 14:98.1 requires the court to bar the offender from driving any vehicle without a functioning interlock device installed for the duration of the license suspension, and La. R.S. 14:98.2 extends that same requirement to at least 6 months on a second offense. That first-offense license suspension itself isn’t fixed either: a BAC of 0.15% or higher on a first offense extends the suspension to 2 years under the same statute, well beyond the shorter suspension that applies below that threshold, and the interlock device itself has to stay installed and functioning for the entire suspension period regardless of which threshold applies. Illegal carrying of weapons under La. R.S. 14:95 doesn’t mean what it used to before Louisiana’s 2024 permitless-carry law: most adults 18 or older who can legally own a firearm no longer need a permit to carry one concealed, so this charge now typically comes down to age, a firearm disqualification, carrying somewhere restricted, or not telling an officer about the weapon during a stop. The base penalty is up to 6 months and a $500 fine, climbing to up to 5 years on a second conviction and up to 10 years on a third, with an additional 5-to-10-year mandatory sentence if a firearm was used during a separate violent or drug offense. Louisiana treats burglary and armed robbery as two of its most serious property and violent offenses. Simple burglary under La. R.S. 14:62, unauthorized entry with intent to commit a felony or theft, carries up to 12 years at hard labor and a $2,000 fine on its own, with a 3-year mandatory minimum if the person was armed with a firearm while inside. Armed robbery under La. R.S. 14:64 is in a different category entirely: a mandatory minimum of 10 years at hard labor and a maximum of 99 years, with parole, probation, and suspended sentences all statutorily unavailable.
Louisiana's Expungement Waiting Periods
Louisiana’s expungement framework (La. C.Cr.P. arts. 971-999) runs on real waiting periods, not a flat rule: a misdemeanor conviction needs 5 years since the sentence, probation, or parole was completed, and only one misdemeanor can be expunged within any 5-year period. A felony conviction needs a 10-year wait, and a DWI/OWI conviction specifically can only be expunged once every 10 years. Starting in 2025, Louisiana also created an expedited expungement process for people who were 17 years old at the time of arrest, plus a new automated-request option through the state’s Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information. Filing the petition itself doesn’t end the case immediately either: under arts. 976-978, the clerk of court has to notify the district attorney and any arresting law enforcement agency, who then have 60 days to object, and only if someone actually objects does the court hold a hearing before ruling; if no one objects within that window, a judge can grant the expungement without one.
Caddo Parish's First Judicial District Court
A Shreveport criminal case is heard at the Caddo Parish Courthouse at 501 Texas Street, home to the First Judicial District Court, Caddo Parish’s own district and not one it shares judges with any other parish for. An arrest is booked at the Caddo Correctional Center on Forum Drive, run by the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office, rather than at the courthouse itself.
Shreveport is also where an appeal from that trial court actually goes: the Louisiana Second Circuit Court of Appeal sits at 430 Fannin Street, a few blocks from the First Judicial District’s own courthouse, and hears appeals from criminal cases decided not just in Caddo Parish but across the surrounding parishes within its circuit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a fixed bail schedule in Louisiana?
No. La. C.Cr.P. art. 316 requires an individualized weighing of factors like offense seriousness, evidence, criminal history, and community safety, not a flat schedule tied only to the charge.
Can I hire my own attorney after a public defender is appointed?
Yes. Having a district public defender appointed under La. R.S. 15:161 doesn’t waive or limit the right to retain private counsel later; the appointment is a floor, not a lock-in.
Does Louisiana grade felonies into classes like Class A or B?
No. Louisiana has no felony-class system at all under La. R.S. 14:2; each of its roughly 600 criminal offenses carries its own individually-written penalty in Title 14.
How many OWI offenses before it becomes a felony?
The third offense within a 10-year lookback becomes a felony under La. R.S. 14:98, carrying 1 to 5 years and a $2,000 fine.
Can every conviction in Louisiana be expunged?
No. Certain offenses, including crimes of violence under La. R.S. 14:2(B), sex offenses requiring registration, and domestic abuse battery, are excluded from expungement regardless of how much time has passed.
Does every parish in Louisiana have the same court structure?
No. Orleans is the one exception among all 64 parishes: it’s the only parish with completely separate Civil District Court and Criminal District Court, while every other parish’s district court handles both civil and criminal matters in one court.
What You Do Next Matters
Whether it’s a misdemeanor or a felony under Louisiana’s own definition, a Shreveport case starts moving immediately, and decisions made in the first few days can shape everything that follows.
