May 16th, 2017

​Louisiana Supreme Court Opinions
Louisiana v. Stewart

Dockets: 2015-K-1845 , 2015-K-1846
Opinion Date: May 12, 2017
Judge: Per Curiam
Areas of Law: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law

The Louisiana Supreme Court granted certiorari review in two consolidated matters to examine the timeliness of a prosecution following defendant’s failure to appear in court after receiving actual notice and whether the court of appeal erroneously reversed the trial court’s ruling. The trial court granted defendant’s motion to quash, finding the prosecution untimely. The Supreme Court affirmed the court of appeal’s ruling, which reversed the quashal and found the State had no affirmative duty to locate an absent defendant, and remanded these cases to the trial court for further proceedings.