Louisiana Sentencing Guidelines: Felonies and Misdemeanors

Louisiana’s sentencing guidelines are built offense by offense: each criminal statute sets its own penalty range, and the judge chooses a sentence within that range using the factors listed in Article 894.1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. There is no lettered class system like Class A or Class B felonies. Instead, the crime you’re convicted of determines the floor and ceiling, and your history, the facts of the offense, and any enhancements decide where inside that window your sentence lands.

Felony or Misdemeanor: The Basic Split

Louisiana divides every criminal offense into one of two categories. A felony is any crime punishable by death or by imprisonment at hard labor. A misdemeanor is every other offense.¹ That distinction matters because “hard labor” is what unlocks the longer prison ranges and the collateral consequences that follow a felony conviction.

Penalty ranges live in the individual statute defining the crime. Armed robbery carries 10 to 99 years at hard labor. Theft of property worth less than $1,000 carries up to six months. Because there’s no class system stitching offenses together, two crimes that sound similar can carry very different exposure. The Louisiana Sentencing Commission recommends changes to these ranges to the legislature every two years, with the stated goal of keeping similar cases producing similar outcomes.²

Misdemeanor Sentencing Ranges

Most misdemeanors cap at six months in parish jail, though individual statutes set shorter maximums.³ Fines are written into each offense. A first-offense DWI carries a fine between $300 and $1,000 plus 10 days to six months in jail.⁴ Theft under $1,000 carries up to six months and up to a $1,000 fine.⁵

Judges routinely substitute probation or community service for jail time on misdemeanors. But the administrative consequences can outlast the criminal sentence. A DWI triggers a mandatory 12-month driver’s license suspension through the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Passing a stopped school bus brings a 30-day suspension on a first conviction, 60 days on a second, and a full year on a third.⁶ Those suspensions run separate from anything the criminal court orders.

Felony Sentencing Ranges

Felony sentences are measured in years at hard labor, and the ranges are wide. Second-degree murder carries mandatory life imprisonment at hard labor without parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.⁷ Armed robbery carries 10 to 99 years at hard labor, also without parole.⁸

Theft crosses from misdemeanor to felony at $1,000. Taking property worth between $1,000 and $5,000 carries up to five years with or without hard labor and a fine of up to $3,000, and higher dollar thresholds carry steeper ranges.⁵ The pattern repeats across the code: the same underlying conduct escalates as the dollar amount, degree of harm, or vulnerability of the victim rises.

A felony conviction also carries lasting collateral consequences. You lose the right to vote while incarcerated and during supervision, though Louisiana law now provides a path to restore voting rights after a period on probation or parole. You lose the right to possess firearms, and a convicted felon caught with a gun faces an additional 5 to 20 years at hard labor, without parole, plus a $1,000 to $5,000 fine.⁹

How a Judge Picks a Number Within the Range

Article 894.1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure sets out the analysis a judge is supposed to run before imposing sentence. Imprisonment is appropriate if there is a serious risk the defendant will reoffend, if the defendant needs a custodial setting for treatment, or if a lighter sentence would minimize the seriousness of the crime. The judge must state the specific reasons for the sentence on the record.¹⁰ That record is what an appellate court reviews if you challenge the sentence later.

The severity of the offense carries the most weight. Premeditation, significant physical harm, or abuse of a position of trust push toward the top of the range. An impulsive offense with no physical injury and a minor role for the defendant pulls the other way. Criminal history matters heavily, as do age, mental health, employment, and family obligations. A defendant who has taken concrete steps toward rehabilitation, completed treatment, held a job, or made amends to the victim generally lands lower in the range than someone who hasn’t.

Article 894.1 also lists mitigating grounds the court weighs in the defendant’s favor: the offense didn’t cause or threaten serious harm, the defendant acted under strong provocation, circumstances partially justified the conduct even without amounting to a legal defense, the defendant’s criminal history is minimal, and restitution has been made or genuinely offered.¹⁰

The Habitual Offender Law

Louisiana’s habitual offender statute is where sentencing really escalates, and it catches many defendants off guard. The statute works as a multiplier applied to the base offense once the prosecution proves the prior convictions.¹¹

Second felony: Sentence range shifts to between one-third of the maximum and twice the maximum for the underlying offense.
Third felony: Range becomes one-half of the maximum to twice the maximum. If all three felonies are crimes of violence or sex offenses involving minors, the sentence is life without parole.
Fourth or subsequent felony: Minimum is the longest sentence for a first conviction, but never less than 20 years, and the maximum extends to natural life. If the fourth felony and two priors are violent or sex offenses against minors, the sentence is life without parole.

The enhancements are mandatory once the priors are proven. Multiple convictions obtained on the same day before October 19, 2004, count as a single conviction for the count. The practical effect is that someone with three prior felonies who commits even a relatively minor fourth felony faces a 20-year mandatory minimum.

Other enhancements sit outside the habitual offender statute. Using a firearm during certain crimes can add mandatory minimums on top of the base sentence, and crimes against children, elderly individuals, or people with disabilities often carry enhanced ranges written directly into the offense statute.

Multiple Counts: Concurrent or Consecutive

When you’re convicted of more than one offense, whether the sentences stack depends on how the crimes relate. Convictions arising from the same act or transaction run concurrently unless the judge explicitly orders otherwise. Convictions from separate acts or transactions run consecutively unless the judge orders concurrency.¹²

The default flip matters. Three robberies on three dates face consecutive sentencing by default, which can triple effective prison time. Judges have discretion to order concurrency even for unrelated offenses, but that’s the exception. When concurrent sentences are ordered, the judge must specify the date from which they begin running together.

Good Time Credits: What You Actually Serve

The imposed sentence and the time actually served are two different numbers, and the gap depends on when the crime was committed.

For crimes committed before August 1, 2024, the system is generous for nonviolent offenders. A person in the custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections convicted of a nonviolent felony earns good time at a rate of 13 days off for every 7 days served, which works out to serving roughly 35% of the imposed sentence if behavior stays clean. First-time violent offenders earn one day off for every three days served. Second-time violent offenders and fourth-time nonviolent felons are ineligible.¹³

For crimes committed on or after August 1, 2024, the legislature scaled good time back sharply. The maximum sentence reduction is now 15% of the imposed sentence, regardless of the offense type.¹⁴ A 10-year nonviolent sentence for a July 2024 offense might mean about 3.5 years served. The same 10 years for a September 2024 offense means at least 8.5 years. The change reshapes plea negotiations and sentencing strategy for anything charged after the effective date.

Probation Conditions

Many felony convictions can be handled through probation rather than prison. Every probationer must avoid further criminal conduct and pay a supervision fee. Beyond those mandatory terms, the judge can require regular reporting to a probation officer, steady employment, drug or mental health treatment, and warrantless searches when the probation officer has reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.¹⁵

Some convictions trigger mandatory conditions. Sex offense convictions require completion of a treatment program and sex offender registration. Domestic abuse convictions require completion of a court-approved counseling program for family or dating violence.¹⁵

Fines, Restitution, and the Hardship Hearing

A sentence in Louisiana almost always carries financial obligations beyond the statutory fine, including court costs, supervision fees, and restitution to the victim. Whenever a victim has actual financial losses, the judge is required to order restitution. Payments normally run through a court-designated intermediary rather than directly to the victim, and the court can set a periodic payment plan if you can’t pay in full at conviction.¹⁶

Before imposing financial obligations, the court must hold a hearing to determine whether the total would cause you or your dependents substantial financial hardship. If it would, the judge can waive, reduce, or restructure the amounts. You can waive the hearing, but doing so is rarely a good idea if money is tight.¹⁷

Falling behind on payments doesn’t lead straight to a license suspension. The court first offers an extension of up to 180 days or community service. Only after that period expires, and only if the judge finds you willfully refused to pay or complete the service, can the court order your driver’s license surrendered and suspended for offenses involving motor vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft. The license won’t be reinstated until you pay the fine plus administrative fees. If you’re genuinely unable to pay, the court cannot suspend your license.¹⁸

Challenging a Sentence

If you believe the sentence is excessive or legally flawed, Louisiana offers two main routes to challenge it.

Motion to Reconsider Sentence

In felony cases, you have 30 days from the date the sentence is imposed to file a motion to reconsider, and the court can extend that deadline at sentencing. In misdemeanor cases, the motion can be filed any time after the sentence starts running. The motion must state specific grounds. A vague claim that the sentence is too harsh preserves nothing, and any ground you fail to raise in the motion cannot be raised on appeal.¹⁹ The motion is effectively a prerequisite to any appellate challenge to the sentence itself.

Post-Conviction Relief

After a conviction becomes final, a separate petition for post-conviction relief can be filed in the district court where you were convicted. You must currently be serving a sentence or be on probation or parole; once the sentence is complete, the application will be dismissed. The petition must state specific grounds and the factual basis for relief in reasonable detail, and it must list any prior applications. Procedurally barred or frivolous claims will be dismissed.²⁰ This is the vehicle for claims like ineffective assistance of counsel, newly discovered evidence, and constitutional violations that were not raised on direct appeal.

1
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:2 – Definitions
2
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:321 – Purpose; Duties of the Commission
3
Justia. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 884
4
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:98.1
5
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:67 – Theft
6
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 32:414
7
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:30.1
8
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 14:64 – Armed Robbery
9
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 14:95.1
10
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 894.1
11
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 15:529.1 – Habitual Offender Law
12
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 883
13
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Revised Statutes RS 15:571.3
14
Justia. Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:571.3.1
15
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 895
16
Justia. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 883.2
17
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 875.1
18
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 885.1
19
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 881.1
20
Louisiana State Legislature. Louisiana Code of Criminal Procedure Article 926