La. Ch. Code art. 857
This is the official text of La. Ch. Code art. 857, part of Louisiana’s Children's Code — governs child custody, child protection, and juvenile justice in Louisiana.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Transfers for criminal prosecution; authority
Official statutory text
A. The court on its own motion or on motion of the district attorney may conduct a hearing to consider whether to transfer a child for prosecution to the appropriate court exercising criminal jurisdiction if a delinquency petition has been filed which alleges that a child who is fourteen years of age or older at the time of the commission of the alleged offense but is not otherwise subject to the original jurisdiction of a court exercising criminal jurisdiction has committed any one or more of the following crimes:
(1) First degree murder.
(2) Second degree murder.
(3) Aggravated kidnapping.
(4) Aggravated or first degree rape.
(5) Aggravated battery when committed by the discharge of a firearm.
(6) Armed robbery when committed with a firearm.
(7) Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 301, §2.
(8) Forcible or second degree rape if the rape is committed upon a child at least two years younger than the rapist.
B. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a fourteen-year-old who is transferred pursuant to this Article and subsequently convicted shall not be confined for such conviction beyond his thirty-first birthday.
C.(1) An adult who is charged with an offense committed at the time he was a child for which the time limitation for the institution of prosecution pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Article 571 has not lapsed and for which he was subject to prosecution as an adult due to his age at the time the offense was committed shall be prosecuted as an adult in the appropriate court exercising criminal jurisdiction. If convicted, he shall be punished as an adult as provided by law.
(2) An adult who is charged with an offense committed at the time he was a child for which the time limitation for the institution of prosecution pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Article 571 has not lapsed and for which he was not subject to prosecution as an adult due to his age at the time the offense was committed shall be prosecuted as an adult in the appropriate court exercising criminal jurisdiction. If convicted, he shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to be confined in secure placement for a period of time as determined by the court not to exceed the maximum amount of confinement he could have been ordered to serve had he been adjudicated for the offense as a child at the time the offense was committed.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §8, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 634, §1, eff. June 15, 1993; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 15, §1; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 39, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1137, §1, eff. July 14, 1997; Acts 2001, No. 301, §2; Acts 2008, No. 670, §1; Acts 2010, No. 805, §1; Acts 2015, No. 184, §8.
(1) First degree murder.
(2) Second degree murder.
(3) Aggravated kidnapping.
(4) Aggravated or first degree rape.
(5) Aggravated battery when committed by the discharge of a firearm.
(6) Armed robbery when committed with a firearm.
(7) Repealed by Acts 2001, No. 301, §2.
(8) Forcible or second degree rape if the rape is committed upon a child at least two years younger than the rapist.
B. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a fourteen-year-old who is transferred pursuant to this Article and subsequently convicted shall not be confined for such conviction beyond his thirty-first birthday.
C.(1) An adult who is charged with an offense committed at the time he was a child for which the time limitation for the institution of prosecution pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Article 571 has not lapsed and for which he was subject to prosecution as an adult due to his age at the time the offense was committed shall be prosecuted as an adult in the appropriate court exercising criminal jurisdiction. If convicted, he shall be punished as an adult as provided by law.
(2) An adult who is charged with an offense committed at the time he was a child for which the time limitation for the institution of prosecution pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Article 571 has not lapsed and for which he was not subject to prosecution as an adult due to his age at the time the offense was committed shall be prosecuted as an adult in the appropriate court exercising criminal jurisdiction. If convicted, he shall be committed to the custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to be confined in secure placement for a period of time as determined by the court not to exceed the maximum amount of confinement he could have been ordered to serve had he been adjudicated for the offense as a child at the time the offense was committed.
Acts 1991, No. 235, §8, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 634, §1, eff. June 15, 1993; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 15, §1; Acts 1994, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 39, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1137, §1, eff. July 14, 1997; Acts 2001, No. 301, §2; Acts 2008, No. 670, §1; Acts 2010, No. 805, §1; Acts 2015, No. 184, §8.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a child custody matter in Louisiana?
See all Louisiana Child Custody lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.