TITLE XXXI-A
POST CONVICTION RELIEF
Art. 924. Definitions
As used in this Title:
(1) "Application for post conviction relief" means a petition filed by a person in
custody after sentence following conviction for the commission of an offense seeking to have
the conviction and sentence set aside.
(2) "Custody" means detention or confinement, or probation or parole supervision,
after sentence following conviction for the commission of an offense.
(3) "DNA testing" means any method of testing and comparing deoxyribonucleic
acid that would be admissible under the Louisiana Code of Evidence.
(4) "Post conviction relief" means a procedure that allows an individual who has
been convicted of a crime in this state to challenge the legality of his confinement. It is a
form of post conviction habeas corpus and is a collateral action to test the detention of a
criminal defendant after his sentence and conviction have become final.
(5) "Shell petition" means a petition that does not contain fully briefed claims for
relief.
(6) "Unknown sample" means a biological sample from an unknown donor
constituting evidence of the commission of an offense or tending to prove the identity of the
perpetrator of an offense.
Added by Acts 1980, No. 429, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1981; Acts 2001, No. 1020, §1; Acts
2025, No. 393, §1.