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Posts by David Joseph Rozas
How Bond Works in East Baton Rouge Parish
Bond is not a punishment and it is not a fine. It is security that you will appear. Louisiana courts consider a set of factors when setting the amount, including the seriousness of the offense, the weight of the evidence, prior criminal history, ties to the community, employment, and the risk of flight. In practice,…
Read MoreBaton Rouge City Court or the 19th JDC? Which Court Will Hear Your Case
People routinely show up at the wrong courthouse. It is an understandable mistake, because Baton Rouge has two criminal courts operating within a few blocks of each other and the routing rule is not obvious. The short version: the level of the charge and the place of the alleged offense decide the court, not where…
Read MoreResisting Arrest and Battery on a Police Officer Charges in Baton Rouge
It’s common for someone arrested in Baton Rouge to end up facing more than the original charge that started the encounter — resisting arrest and battery on a police officer are two of the charges we see added most often, sometimes even when the underlying original charge is minor or later dropped entirely. Resisting arrest…
Read MoreExpunging a Criminal Record in East Baton Rouge Parish
A lot of people who’ve resolved a criminal case in Baton Rouge — whether through a dismissal, an acquittal, or completing a sentence — don’t realize the record doesn’t just disappear on its own. Louisiana has a formal expungement process, handled through the Clerk of Court, and eligibility depends heavily on the type of offense…
Read MoreProbation Violations in the 19th JDC: What Happens at a Revocation Hearing
Being placed on probation instead of going to prison is often a huge relief — but it comes with real conditions, and violating those conditions in East Baton Rouge Parish can bring someone back in front of a 19th Judicial District Court judge for a revocation hearing. Violations generally fall into two categories: technical violations,…
Read MoreTheft and Shoplifting Charges in Baton Rouge
Theft charges in Baton Rouge cover a wide range of conduct, from shoplifting a small item at a Baton Rouge retailer to far more serious felony theft allegations, and where a case lands on that spectrum usually comes down to the dollar value involved. Louisiana law sets specific dollar thresholds that separate misdemeanor theft from…
Read MorePulled Over at a DWI Checkpoint on Airline Highway or I-10 in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge law enforcement regularly runs DWI checkpoints on major corridors like Airline Highway and near I-10, especially around holidays and weekends. These checkpoints are legal in Louisiana as long as law enforcement follows specific procedural rules — but a lot of people don’t realize their rights are different at a checkpoint than during a…
Read MoreGun Charges in Baton Rouge: Illegal Carrying and Enhanced Penalties
Louisiana is generally considered a gun-friendly state, but that doesn’t mean gun charges in Baton Rouge are treated lightly — quite the opposite. Illegal carrying of a weapon, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and carrying a weapon while intoxicated are among the more aggressively charged offenses we see in East Baton Rouge…
Read MoreDomestic Violence Charges in East Baton Rouge Parish: The Process and Protective Orders
Domestic abuse battery charges are treated differently than most other arrests in East Baton Rouge Parish, both in how the arrest itself unfolds and in what happens immediately afterward. Louisiana law generally requires a mandatory holding period following a domestic violence arrest before bail can be addressed, which means the person arrested typically can’t simply…
Read MoreFelony vs. Misdemeanor Charges in Baton Rouge: How the Charge Gets Decided
One of the most common questions we get from people arrested in Baton Rouge is simple: is this a felony or a misdemeanor? The answer isn’t always obvious at the moment of arrest, and it can change as the case moves forward. When someone is arrested, the arresting officer books them on the charge they…
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