RS 46:1853

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RS 46:1853

§1853. Distribution of escrow account funds

A. Proceeds paid into an escrow account provided for by this Chapter shall be retained for a period of ten years after the date of the court order or deposit by the contracting party, but during that period may be levied upon to satisfy a money judgment or reparations award rendered in favor of a victim or the legal representative of the victim of the defendant's crime.

B. If so ordered by a court, with notice to all interested parties and opportunity for hearing, the escrow account shall be used to satisfy, and disbursements made therefrom by the treasurer, in the following order:

(1)Court-ordered restitution in favor of a victim of the defendant's crime.

(2)A money judgment rendered by a court or an award of reparations by the Crime Victims Reparations Board in favor of a victim of the defendant's crime.

(3)Fees due for legal representation of the defendant in criminal proceedings, including the appeals process, to the extent that the defendant's representation was paid for by the state or an agency thereof, but such amounts paid shall not exceed twenty-five percent of the total amount in escrow.

(4)Any fines or costs assessed against the defendant by a court.

C. At the end of the ten-year period provided for in Subsection A of this Section, the remaining escrow account funds shall be paid into the Crime Victims Reparations Fund as provided for by R.S. 46:1816. However, if a civil action is pending against the defendant that would be eligible to be satisfied out of the escrow account, then the funds shall be held in escrow until completion of the action.

D. If the defendant has appealed his conviction and the appeal process is not finalized by the expiration of the ten-year period provided for in Subsection A of this Section, then the remaining escrow account funds shall be held until the appeal process is finalized, and if the conviction is reversed, the treasurer shall pay any money remaining in the escrow account to the defendant.

Acts 2012, No. 799, §3, eff. June 13, 2012.