The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Gubernatorial revocation
Const. of 1974, Art. IV, §5 (I). The governor may remove from office a person he appoints, except a person appointed for a term fixed by this constitution or by law.
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Forgery
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Forgery
R.S. 14:72. Forgery. A. It shall be unlawful to forge, with intent to defraud, any signature to, or any part of, any writing purporting to have legal efficacy.
B. Issuing, transferring, or possessing with intent to defraud, a forged writing, known by the offender to be a forged writing, shall also constitute a violation of the provisions of this Section.
C. For purposes of this Section:
(1) “Forge” means the following:
(a) To alter, make, complete, execute, or authenticate any writing so that it purports:
(i) To be the act of another who did not authorize that act;
(ii)·To have been executed at a time or place or in a numbered sequence other than was in fact the case; or
(iii) To be a copy of an original when no such original existed.
(b) To issue, transfer, register the transfer of, pass, publish, or otherwise utter a writing that is forged in accordance with the meaning of Subparagraph (l)(a).
(c) To possess a writing that is forged within the meaning of Subparagraph (l)(a).
(2) “Writing” means the following:
(a) Printing or any other method of recording information;
(b) Money, coins, tokens, stamps, seals, credit cards, badges, and trademarks; and
(c) Symbols of value, right, privilege, or identification.
D. Whoever commits the crime of forgery shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than ten years, or both.
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Filing false public records
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Filing false public records
R.S. 14:133. Filing or maintaining false public records. A Filing false public records is the filing or depositing for record in any public office or with any public official, or the maintaining as required by law, regulaÂtion, or rule, with knowledge of its falsity, of any of the following:
(1) Any forged document.
(2) Any wrongfully altered document.
(3) Any document containing a false statement or false representation of a material fact.
B. The good faith inclusion of any item of cost on a Medical Assistance Program cost report which is later determined by audit to be non-reimbursable under state and federal regulations shall be an affirmative defense to a violation of this Section.
C.(1) Whoever commits the crime of filing false public records shall be imprisoned for not more than five years with or without hard labor or shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.
(2) In addition to the penalty provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a person convicted of the provisions of this Section may be ordered to pay restitution to the state if the state suffered a loss as a result of the offense. Restitution shall include the payment of legal interest at the rate provided in R.S. 13:4202.
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Injuring public records
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Injuring public records
R.S. 14:132. Injuring public records. A. First degree injuring public records is the intentional removal, mutilation, destruction, alteration, falsification, or concealment of any record, document, or other thing, filed or deposited, by authority of law, in any public office or with any public officer.
B. Second degree injuring public records is the intentional removal, mutilation, destruction, alteration, falsification, or concealment of any record, document, or other thing, defined as a public record pursuant to R.S. 44:1 et seq. and required to be preserved in any public office or by any person or public officer pursuant to R.S. 44:36.
C.(1) Whoever commits the crime of first degree injuring public records shall be imprisoned for not more than five years with or without hard labor or shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars or both.
2) Whoever commits the crime of second degree injuring public records shall be imprisoned for not more than one year with or without hard labor or shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars or both.
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Bribery and corrupt influencing
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Bribery and corrupt influencing
R.S. 14:118. Public bribery. A.(1) Public bribery is the giving or offering to give, directly or indirectly, anything of apparent present or prospective value to any of the following persons, with the intent to influence his conduct in relation to his position, employment, or duty:
(a) Public officer, public employee, or person in a position of public authority.
(b) Repealed by Acts 2010, No. 797, §2, eff Jan. 1, 2011.
(c) Grand or petit juror.
(d) Witness, or person about to be called as a witness, upon a trial or other proceeding before any court, board, or officer authorized to hear evidence or to take testimony.
(e) Any person who has been elected or appointed to public office, whether or not said person has assumed the title or duties of such office.
(2) The acceptance of, or the offer to accept, directly or indirectly, anything of apparent present or prospective value, under such circumstances, by any of the above named persons, shall also constitute public bribery.
B. For purposes of this Section, “public officer”, “public employee”, or “person in a position of public authority”, includes those enumerated in RS. 14:2(9), and also means any public official, public employee, or person in a position of public authority, in other states, the federal government, any foreign sovereign, or any subdivision, entity, or agency thereof.
C.(1) Whoever commits the crime of public bribery shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than five years, or both.
2) In addition to the penalty provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a person convicted of the provisions of this Section may be ordered to pay restitution to the state if the state suffered a loss as a result of the offense. Restitution shall include the payment of legal interest at the rate provided in RS. 13:4202.
D. Property which was given, offered, or accepted during the commission of the crime of public bribery shall be deemed to be contraband and shall be subject to seizure and forfeiture. Upon final disposition of the case, the district attorney may petition the district court to forfeit the property seized in connection with a violation of this Section, and such property seized under this Section shall be forfeited upon:
(1) A showing by the district attorney of a conviction for a violation of the provisions of this Section.
(2) A showing by the district attorney that the seizure was made incident to an arrest with probable cause or a search under a valid search warrant pursuant to other provisions of law.
E. Property forfeited pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be disposed of as follows:
(1) “When the property is not cash or currency; it shall be disposed of pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 15:41.
(2) When the property consists of cash or currency, it shall be forfeited and distributed as follows:
(a) Fifty-five percent to the law enforcement agency or agencies who investigated the crime.
(b) Fifteen percent to the criminal court fund.
(c) Twenty-five percent to the prosecuting authority that prosecuted the crime.
(d) Five percent to the clerk of court. F. If the charges of public bribery are dismissed by the district attorney, or if the accused is acquitted following a trial in the district court of the parish in which the violation is alleged to have occurred, all property shall be immediately returned to the owner.
R.S. 14:120. Corrupt influencing. A. Corrupt influencing is the giving or offering to give anything of apparent present or prospective value to, or the accepting or offering to accept anything of apparent present or prospective value by, any person, with the intention that the recipient shall corruptly influence the conduct of any of the persons named in R.S. 14:118 (public bribery) in relation to such person’s position, employment, or duty.
B.(1) “Whoever commits the crime of corrupt influencing shall be imprisoned for not more than ten years with or without hard labor or shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars, or both.
(2) In addition to the penalty provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a person convicted of the provisions of this Section may be ordered to pay restitution to the state if the state suffered a loss as a result of the offense. Restitution shall include the payment of legal interest at the rate provided in R.S. 13:4202.
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Official misconduct
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Official misconduct
R.S. 14:134. Malfeasance in office. A. Malfeasance in office is committed when any public officer or public employee shall:
(1) Intentionally refuse or fail to perform any duty lawfully required of him, as such officer or employee; or
(2) Intentionally perform any such duty in an unlawful manner; or
(3) Knowingly permit any other public officer or public employee, under his author ity, to intentionally refuse or fail to perform any duty lawfully required of him, or to perform any such duty in an unlawful manner.
B. Any duty lawfully required of a public officer or public employee when delegated by him to a public officer or public employee shall be deemed to be a lawful duty of such public officer or employee. The delegation of such lawful duty shall not relieve the public officer or employee of his lawful duty.
C.(1) Whoever commits the crime of malfeasance in office shall be imprisoned for not more than five years with or without hard labor or shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or both.
(2) In addition to the penalty provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, a person convicted of the provisions of this Section may be ordered to pay restitution to the state if the state suffered a loss as a result of the offense. Restitution shall include the payment of legal interest at the rate provided in RS. 13:4202.
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Oath of office
The Office of Notary Public in Louisiana – Oath of office
Const. of 1974, Art. x; §30. Oath of Office. Every official shall take the following oath or affirmation: “I, … , do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the constitution and laws of the United States and the constitution and laws of this state and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as … , according to the best of my ability and understanding, so help me God.”
The Office of Notary as Public on Louisiana – The Notary as a public official
The Office of Notary as Public on Louisiana – The Notary as a public official
R.S. 42:J. Public office defined. As used in this tide, the term “public office” means any state, district, parish or municipal office, elective or appointive, or any position as member on a board or commission, elective or appointive, when the office or position is established by the constitution or laws of this state. “Public officer” is any person holding a public office in this state,
