CHAPTER 5.  DISCOVERY AND INSPECTION

PART A.  DISCOVERY BY THE DEFENDANT

Art. 716.  Statements by the defendant, codefendants, and witnesses

A.  Upon written motion of the defendant, the court shall order the district attorney to disclose to the defendant, and to permit or authorize the defendant to inspect and copy, photograph or otherwise reproduce any relevant written or recorded confession or statement of any nature, including recorded testimony before a grand jury, or copy thereof, of the defendant in the possession, custody, control, or knowledge of the district attorney.

B.  Except as provided by Paragraph C of this Article, upon written motion of the defendant, the court shall order the district attorney to inform the defendant of the existence, but not the contents, of any oral confession or statement of any nature made by the defendant or any codefendant which the district attorney intends to offer in its case in chief at the trial, with the information as to when, where, and to whom such oral confession or statement was made.

C.  Upon written motion of the defendant, the court shall order the district attorney to inform the defendant of the substance of any oral statement made by the defendant or any codefendant which the state intends to offer in its case in chief at the trial, whether before or after arrest, in response to interrogation by any person then known to the defendant or the codefendant to be a law enforcement officer.

D.  Upon written motion of the defendant, the court shall order the district attorney to disclose to the defendant, and to permit or authorize the defendant to inspect and copy any written or recorded statements of any witness the state intends to call in its case in chief at the trial. For purposes of this Article: (1) "written or recorded statement of a witness" shall mean any audio or audio-video recording of an oral statement or interview of a witness, and any statement a witness writes or signs; (2) for the purposes of this Article, "trial" shall mean the phase of the case at which the state attempts to meet its burden as to guilt, and specifically does not extend to pretrial matters or hearings, or to the penalty phase in capital prosecutions. The state need not provide the defendant any written or recorded statement of its witnesses until immediately prior to the opening statement at trial.

E.  Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed to require that testimony before a grand jury be recorded.

F.  Nothing contained in this Chapter shall obligate the state to provide to any defendant a witness list for any trial or pretrial matter.

Added by Acts 1977, No. 515, §1; Acts 2013, No. 250, §1.

NOTE:  See Acts 2013, No. 250, §2, relative to applicability.