This statute clarifies that when a criminal defendant's sanity or mental competency is at issue in Louisiana court proceedings, the procedures set forth in Code of Criminal Procedure Article 641 et seq. govern—not the Behavioral Health Law chapter. It is a jurisdictional carve-out that preserves criminal procedure rules for competency and insanity determinations and imposes no licensing, operating, or compliance obligations on any behavioral health facility.
View official sourceLogin Sign-Up Home Laws Bills Sessions House Senate Committees Legislators My Legis 2026 Regular Session Other Sessions 2026 Regular Session Other Sessions House Committees Senate Committees Miscellaneous Committees Scheduled Meetings Representatives Senators Caucuses and Delegations RS 28:58 §58. Code of Criminal Procedure Article 641 et seq. not affected Whenever it appears that a person against whom an indictment has been found or information filed in any court in this state is insane or mentally defective to the extent that he is unable to understand the proceedings against him or to assist in his defense, or whenever the existence of insanity or mental defect on the part of the defendant at the time of the alleged commission of the offense charged becomes an issue in the cause, all proceedings to determine the fact of the insanity or mental defect shall be in accordance with the provisions of Code of Criminal Procedure Article 641 et seq. Acts 2018, No. 206, §1. If you experience any technical difficulties navigating this website, contact the webmaster. P.O. Box 94062 (900 North Third Street) Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70804-9062