As of August 1, 2023, the Louisiana Legislature has created a special provision for expunging first offense misdemeanor possession of marijuana convictions:

D. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a person may file a motion to expunge his record of arrest and conviction of a misdemeanor conviction for a first offense possession of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, or chemical derivatives thereof after ninety days from the date of conviction.

Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 977(D).

The fees for filing this expungement are slightly less than a regular expungement. La CCrP Art. 983(M).

This special provision will cease to be available to citizens of Louisiana on August 1, 2026. La CCrP Art. 983(M)(5).

If you or someone you know wants to know if they are eligible for an expungement under this law, give us a call at (318) 459-9111 to set up a consult.

The Louisiana Legislature enacted Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 972.1 to allow for expungements to be filed in:

1. District courts and their commissioners within their trial jurisdiction.

2. City or parish court within their trial jurisdiction.

3. Mayor’s courts and traffic courts within their trial jurisdiction.

4. Juvenile and family courts within their trial jurisdiction.

5. Municipal and traffic courts of New Orleans within their trial jurisdiction.

La C.Cr.P. Art. 972.1.

More importantly, however, the Louisiana Legislature has amended the expungement laws regarding misdemeanor marijuana convictions for a limited period of time:

Effective August 1, 2023, “a person may file a motion to expunge his record of arrest and conviction of a misdemeanor conviction for a first offense possession of marijuana, tetrahydrocannabinol, or chemical derivates thereof after ninety days from the date of conviction.” La. C.Cr.P. Art. 977. This means that, beginning August 1, first offense misdemeanor possession of marijuana convictions are able to be expunged 90 days after the date of conviction. For this limited purpose, the requirement of an 894 or 5-year waiting period are reduced to 90 days. Be aware that this change has a sunset provision, meaning that this option is only available until August 1, 2026. La. C.Cr.P. Art. 983(M)(5).

The fees for filing an expungement under this provision are $50 to the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, $50 to the Sheriff, $50 to the District Attorney’s Office, and $150 to the Clerk of Court. La. C.Cr.P. Art. 983(M)(1). This is $200 cheaper than a normal expungement.

If you or someone you know is looking to expunge a first offense misdemeanor marijuana conviction, give us a call at (318) 459-9111 to set up a consult.

We have gotten questions from several people regarding the bill Governor John Bel Edwards just signed into law “decriminalizing” marijuana possession in Louisiana, so we thought we’d let y’all know what this law actually does.

Governor Edwards signed House Bill 652 (by Shreveport’s own Representative Cedric Glover) into law on Tuesday, June 15. The first thing we want our readers to know is that this law does not legalize marijuana possession, distribution, production, etc..in Louisiana. It is still a crime to do all of those things with regard to marijuana. (See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:966.)

What this bill does do is change the penalty for possession of 14 grams (half an ounce) or less of marijuana from a fine and/or jail time to simply a fine of not more than $100. It does not matter whether this is a first offense or a 40th offense as long as the amount possessed is 14 grams or less. Possession of more than 14 grams of marijuana still carries the potential for jail time and is also still an enhanceable offense, meaning that for a third or higher offense, you could be charged with a felony.

Although many in the media and legislature are referring to this statute as “decriminalization,” we want our readers to be very aware that an arrest and conviction for possession of less than 14 grams of marijuana will still be considered a criminal conviction. This means that the arrest and conviction will still show up on your rap sheet unless you pay to have it expunged (assuming you are otherwise eligible to expunge it). It also means that you will have to disclose it on job applications, lease applications, etc.

Our readers also need to be aware that this legislation is only applicable to state law. Marijuana is still illegal in any quantity under federal law.

Finally, our readers should also know that this law will not go into effect until August 1, 2021, the standard effectiveness date of all legislation in Louisiana (unless another one is specifically enumerated). That means that, until August 1, if you are caught with less than 14 grams of marijuana, you still face jail time if convicted.

If you or someone you know is facing marijuana possession charges and has questions about how the new law will impact them, call us to set up a consult at (318) 459-9111.