LA HB52

Amends Code of Criminal Procedure Article 779 to allow prosecutors to designate certain misdemeanors as "non-jury trial misdemeanors" that would be tried by a judge alone, even when statutory penalties exceed $1,000 in fines or six months imprisonment

Prosecutors may only designate an offense as a non-jury trial misdemeanor when the statute does not specify that punishment may be or is necessarily confinement at hard labor

Caps penalties for designated non-jury trial misdemeanors at a maximum fine of $1,000 and maximum imprisonment of six months in parish prison or municipal jail, regardless of the original statutory penalty

Applies both prospectively and retroactively to June 8, 2025

Becomes effective upon signature by the governor or upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature