Provides relative to the removal authority process with respect to domestic offenders

This bill amends Code of Criminal Procedure Article 313(A)(2) to impose a mandatory holding period for individuals arrested on domestic abuse charges. Specifically, the legislation requires that any person charged with domestic abuse battery, violation of a protective order, stalking, or any felony offense involving the use or threatened use of force or a deadly weapon against a family member, household member, or dating partner must be held without bail for a minimum of 48 hours and a maximum of 72 hours following arrest. This holding period applies regardless of whether the court elects to conduct a contradictory bail hearing. The statute designates this detention window as a "cooling off" period intended for the benefit of the victim, establishing a statutory floor for pre-bail detention in these specific domestic violence contexts.

The practical effect of this law is that law enforcement and courts lose discretion to release individuals arrested for the specified domestic offenses on an immediate basis. Defendants charged with these crimes cannot post bail or be released on their own recognizance for at least 48 hours after arrest, creating a mandatory delay in the release process. Victims of domestic violence gain a minimum two-to-three-day period during which the accused offender is in custody, providing time for protective measures to be implemented, for victim safety planning to occur, and for the immediate danger to dissipate. The provision affects primarily individuals arrested for domestic violence crimes, court systems that must manage detention decisions, and domestic violence victims who benefit from the protected window.

This amendment operates within the existing framework of Code of Criminal Procedure Article 313, commonly known as Gwen's Law, which authorizes contradictory bail hearings and detention without bail for specified domestic violence and family-member assault offenses. The law preserves all existing bail procedures and conditions established in prior law while adding the new temporal minimum. The referenced statutory definitions in R.S. 46:2132, R.S. 14:35.3, and R.S. 46:2151 establish the scope of covered offenders and victims, connecting the bail holding requirement to Louisiana's existing domestic abuse and family violence legal framework. The amendment does not alter substantive criminal law or modify the elements of the underlying offenses, but instead regulates the procedural mechanics of pre-trial detention for persons accused of these crimes.