SB 81 Louisiana Senate · 2026 Regular Session

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE: Provides relative to waiver of a trial by jury in a noncapital felony case. (See Act)

SB 81 requires written consent from the district attorney for defendants to waive a jury trial in noncapital felony cases. It changes Louisiana law to mandate that courts deny such waiver requests without the prosecutor's written approval, effective within 45 days before trial. The bill's implementation depends on voter approval of a related constitutional amendment (Article 1, Section 17(A)). This directly affects defendants in noncapital felony cases and prosecutors who must now provide written consent for jury waivers. The bill is currently in the prefiling stage (prefiled February 20, 2026) and not yet enacted.

Issues: ✗ Criminal Justice

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

Mar 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Feb 20, 2026 Signed May 29, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB81 Original → SB81 Act 455 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill formalizes a change to Louisiana law allowing defendants in noncapital felony cases to waive their right to a jury trial at any time before the trial begins, rather than being restricted to a specific 45-day window. The change also updates the required consent from just the district attorney to the broader 'prosecuting authority.' These updates align the statute with a constitutional amendment that was recently adopted by voters, ensuring the legal process matches the new constitutional rules.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded regarding the timing of jury trial waivers, changing from a limited window to 'any time prior to trial,' and broadened the required consent from a specific prosecutor to the general prosecuting authority.

TIMELINE

Extended the time window for waiving a jury trial from a fixed 45-day period to allow the waiver at any time before the trial starts.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the consent requirement for waiving a jury trial from the 'district attorney' to the 'prosecuting authority' to ensure broader applicability.

TECHNICAL

Corrected the formatting of the constitutional amendment reference to match the official text of the adopted amendment.

Floor votes · Senate Mar 24, 2026 · House May 19, 2026

How they voted

27–12

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

Mar 24, 2026

D Democratic12

1 Yea 11 Nay

91% Nay

R Republican28

26 Yea 1 Nay 1

92% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 59, nays 41. Finally passed, ordered to the Senate..

lower

May 7, 2026

Introduced

Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments.

lower

May 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (7-3). Referred to the Legislative Bureau.

lower

Mar 25, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read by title, passed by a vote of 27 yeas and 11 nays, and sent to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

Mar 17, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably.

upper

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.

upper

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors