Provides for the reassignment of a defendant's case when the right to a jury trial has been waived

House Bill 310 amends Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 780(B) to modify the procedural handling of cases in which a defendant waives the right to trial by jury. The bill adds two new provisions to the existing jury waiver framework. First, it mandates that when a defendant files a motion to waive jury trial in a district court with three or more judges assigned to criminal matters, the case shall be randomly reassigned among all remaining judges assigned to criminal matters across all divisions or sections immediately following the filing of that motion. Second, the bill grants the district attorney the authority to file a motion to waive this reassignment within ten days of the granting of the jury waiver motion, and it requires that the district court shall grant any such motion filed by the district attorney.

The practical effect of this legislation falls on defendants, district attorneys, and judges in multi-judge district courts. When a defendant waives jury trial in a district court with three or more criminal judges, the case will automatically be reassigned to a different judge through a random selection process rather than remaining with the original assigned judge. However, the district attorney gains the ability to circumvent this reassignment by filing a motion within ten days seeking to keep the case with the original judge, and the court must grant such a motion if filed. This creates a mechanism through which the prosecution can effectively preserve judicial assignment in jury-waived cases, while defendants seeking such waivers face the prospect of random reassignment unless the district attorney declines to pursue that option.

This amendment operates within the existing constitutional and statutory framework governing jury trial rights in Louisiana. Article I, Section 17 of the Louisiana Constitution provides defendants with the right to trial by jury, and Code of Criminal Procedure Article 780(B) has long established the procedure for exercising a waiver of that right, requiring written motion filed not later than forty-five days before trial and signed by both defendant and counsel. The new reassignment provisions apply only in multi-judge districts, preserving judicial administration in smaller district courts while addressing concerns about judicial assignment in larger courts where multiple criminal judges exist. The mandatory nature of the district attorney's motion and the court's corresponding duty to grant it represent a shift in judicial discretion in these cases, as the court no longer retains the discretion to deny the reassignment waiver once the prosecutor exercises this right.