Art. 3831.Appeal Not to Suspend Execution of Judgment; Delay

Article 3831 addresses what happens to a habeas corpus judgment while an appeal is pending. Under Louisiana's general appellate rules, some appeals suspend the judgment being appealed, putting its effect on hold until the appellate court rules. Article 3831 takes that option off the table for a judgment ordering release or a change of custody.

Instead, the judgment takes effect immediately, regardless of whether either side appeals. A person ordered released stays released; a person ordered into a new custodial arrangement moves into it, without waiting on the outcome of appellate review. That rule reflects how much weight Louisiana places on resolving liberty and custody questions promptly, rather than leaving someone in a status quo that a court has already found unlawful or unsuited to the case, for no reason beyond an appeal being underway.

Article 3831 pairs that rule with a firm appeal deadline: thirty days, measured from the applicable dates set out in Article 2087(A) for a devolutive appeal, the kind that does not suspend the judgment. The losing party keeps the right to appeal, but the appeal proceeds alongside the judgment's execution rather than blocking it.