Code Henry

The petition shall be signed by the appellant or by his attorney charged with a special power of attorney; in this case, the power of attorney shall be attached to the petition; everything shall be served upon the respondent, who is required to provide his grounds of defense within three days of service.

Appeals brought before the superior courts and sovereign court shall be judged at hearing within two months of the date of the introductory petition, upon the report of the judge designated by the president, the case having been previously communicated to the king's counsel's office, for their conclusions.

In the case of condemnation to the death penalty, or to any other afflictive penalty, whether there is an appeal or not, the accused shall be sent under secure guard, at the diligence of the king's prosecutor, to the ban du roi of the court that must hear the appeal, together with the engrossed copies or certified copies of all case documents, which shall be delivered to the clerk of the appeals court; all under the shortest delay.

The engrossed or certified copies shall be sent signed, inventoried, numbered, and initialed by the clerks, first and last piece, with express mention of the signatures and initials of the judges, as well as those of the complainants, witnesses, and accused, in the acts where their signatures and initials are required, under penalty of suspension against the clerks, and of liability, in their own personal name, for damages and interest, both of complainants and of the accused.

With regard to documents serving for the investigation, such as inquiries, orders endorsed at the bottom, and citations, it shall suffice to send the originals; everything shall be sent by the clerk, sealed and closed, to the clerk of the criminal court, who shall give a receipt.

If there are several accused of the same crime, and some have been convicted and others acquitted or not yet judged, they shall all be sent equally; the convicted and those not yet judged shall be brought under escort, and those acquitted shall only be required to make themselves available by appearing.

The maréchaussée officer charged with transporting the convicted or accused shall comply with what is prescribed by articles 182 and 183, Chapter V of this Title.

If the convicted persons have not appealed within three days of the pronouncement of the sentence to them, the king's prosecutor is required to order the clerk to send the documents required by articles 274 and 275, and to ensure that the convicted persons are transferred to the ban du roi or barrière neuve of the appeals court.

The king's prosecutors are charged with overseeing the execution of articles 273, 274, 275, 276, and 278.

Appeals of sentences of condemnation to the death penalty, or afflictive penalties, brought before the superior courts or sovereign court, shall be judged in closed session in the council chamber, upon the report of the judge designated for that purpose by the president, all case documents having been previously communicated to the king's attorney general, who shall give his written conclusions, if the case warrants.

The convicted persons may submit before the appeals court such memoranda as they believe useful for their justification, containing the statement of the facts, their circumstances, the arguments and proofs they draw therefrom, which shall be served upon the attorney general, the civil party, if any, and all added to the case documents.

Before proceeding to judgment on the merits, the court shall examine whether the proceedings were regularly conducted, and whether there is any nullity.

If the proceedings are irregular or contain a nullity, the court shall order them recommenced from the first null act, at the expense of the judge who committed the nullity.

If the proceedings are regular, and no nullity exists, the court shall examine whether the act is classified as a crime or offense by law; whether the corpus delicti has been well established and detailed; whether the evidence, whether testimonial or documentary, is sufficient or insufficient; whether the counter-evidence is not more decisive, more positive, and in greater or equal number; and finally whether there exist circumstances, whether aggravating or mitigating.

The court, after having interrogated the convicted person, may order, if applicable, new investigations, as well as the production of original documents or minutes deposited at the seneschal court clerk's office, indicating the necessary precautions in such cases, unless it prefers to charge a court counselor to travel there to examine and verify them, and to make a report.

If the judgment is reversed because the act is not characterized as a crime, offense, or contravention by any law, or because the act is not proven, the court shall pronounce the accused's acquittal; and by the same decree, shall rule on his damages and interest, if applicable.

The accused, legally acquitted, may no longer be retried or pursued for the same act.

If the judgment is reformed because the act presents only an offense or contravention that the law punishes with a correctional penalty, the court shall pronounce the penalty and rule, by the same decree, on damages and interest, if applicable.

If, in the above case, the court considers that the accused has been sufficiently punished by the correctional penalty that the law pronounces, through the interval of time the accused was detained during the proceedings against him, it shall order the accused's release, as having been sufficiently punished; and shall rule, if applicable, on damages and interest.

If the judgment is annulled because the offense is of a nature to merit a more severe penalty than that pronounced at first instance, the court shall apply the penalty proportionate to the offense, in conformity with the law.