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SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA No. 96-CA-1978 SAFETY NET FOR ABUSED PERSONS v. HONORABLE ROBERT SEGURA AND HONORABLE KATHRYN BOUDREAUX

ON APPEAL FROM THE LOUISIANA COURT OF APPEAL, THIRD CIRCUIT, PARISH OF IBERIA, STATE OF LOUISIANA.

MARCUS, Justice* Safety Net for Abused Persons, Inc. ("SNAP"), filed a petition for a writ of mandamus in the district court directing Judge Robert L. Segura, City Court Judge for the City Court of New Iberia, and Kathryn D. Boudreaux, Clerk of Court for the City Court of New Iberia, to enforce the provisions of La. R.S. 13:1906. La. R.S.

13:1906 directs the clerk of the city courts of New Iberia and Jeanerette, and the municipal courts of Delcambre and Loreauville, to collect an additional fee in civil and criminal cases to support a program to aid victims of domestic violence. Specifically, the

statute directs that the money collected be deposited in a special fund to benefit SNAP, a domestic violence program and shelter serving Iberia Parish. Judge Segura had refused to collect the fee mandated by La. R.S. 13:1906 since the effective date of the statute. The trial judge issued a writ of mandamus directing the

defendants to comply with the provisions of La. R.S. 13:1906, rejecting the defendants' constitutional challenge to the statute. The defendants perfected a suspensive appeal from the trial court's judgment. The court of appeal ruled that La. R.S. 13:1906 violated

La. Const. art. VII,

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