State ex rel. Long v. Hughes
State ex rel. Long v. Hughes
Opinion of the Court
On the application of the district attorney for the Twenty-Eighth Judicial District we granted a writ of certiorari to review the order of the district court commanding the district attorney’s office to represent the petitipners in two judicial commitment proceedings under the provisions of R.S. 28:53.
Article 5, Section 26(B) of the Constitution of the State of Louisiana of 1974 provides:
“(B) Powers. Except as otherwise provided by this constitution, a district attorney, or his designated assistant, shall have charge of every criminal prosecution by the state in his district, be the representative of the state before the grand jury in his district, and be the legal advisor to the grand jury. He shall perform other duties provided by law.”
We can find no existing statutory law which requires a district attorney to represent the petitioner in a judicial commitment proceeding. Although R.S. 28:53 provides for the appointment of an attorney to represent the patient, there is no requirement that an attorney be furnished to the person filing the application.
For these reasons we are of the opinion that the court was in error in this regard and the writ previously issued herein is made absolute; the order of the district judge appointing the district attorney to represent the petitioner in the proceedings styled State of Louisiana, In Re Application for Judicial Commitment of John Peavy, III, No. C-10,920, and State of Louisiana, In Re Application for Judicial Commitment of John Hubbard Ross, Docket No. C-10,-693, of the Twenty-Eighth Judicial District Court for Caldwell Parish, is hereby annulled and the proceedings in each cause is remanded for further proceedings in accordance with law and the views expressed herein.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.