La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 693

This is the official text of La. Code Crim. Proc. art. 693, part of Louisiana’s Code of Criminal Procedure — sets the procedural rules for criminal cases in Louisiana.

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Effect of dismissal

Official statutory text

Dismissal by the district attorney of an indictment or of a count of an indictment, discharges that particular indictment or count. The dismissal is not a bar to a subsequent prosecution, except that:

(1) A dismissal entered without the defendant's consent after the first witness is sworn at the trial on the merits, shall operate as an acquittal and bar a subsequent prosecution for the charge dismissed; and

(2) A dismissal entered after a city court conviction has been appealed to the district court for a trial de novo, shall operate as an acquittal and bar a subsequent prosecution for the charge dismissed.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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