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Criminal Law

Do Not Pass Geaux

New Orleans and the Louisiana "justice" system.
By Brian Privor, Esq.

Post Frequency: 0.1/day

Last Entry: February 05, 2008 at 12:21:00

Super Tuesday

Posted on February 05, 2008
In case you're as jaded by politics as I am, check out the returns on the original Super Tuesday. That's Fat Tuesday in New Orleans. Happy Mardi Gras!

Posted on January 11, 2008
Jury duty is a chore, but I'm not sure being swept up off the streets in a citizen dragnet is what most complainers had in mind. To be sure, jury duty is a civic duty, a small price to pay for living in a civilized, democratic society. But I'd like to think that presupposes to advanced notice (like a summons in the mail) to allow prospective jurors to plan their days around the disruption to their normal daily routine...

And the winner is...

Posted on January 02, 2008
It looks like 2007 was another banner year for New Orleans, at least as far as crime statistics. Once again, the Big Easy looks to take the murder capital crown. It is unfortunate that the violence overshadows many positives for a city on the rebound...

Judging Poor Judgment

Posted on December 28, 2007
Former Orleans Parish civil judge C. Hunter King has managed to have his record expunged as part of a deal under which he pleaded guilty to extortion and conspiring to commit public payroll fraud. His offense was requiring court employees to sell batches of $250 fundraising tickets or face termination...

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Taking a Chance on a Second Chance

Posted on December 22, 2007
Only the future can know if our judgments were the best decisions when made. Even then, certainty is constantly challenged by the unfolding of ever more future events. This is especially true when judges must mete out punishments, particularly in the cases of juvenile offenders...

A new wrinkle on the federal bench

Posted on December 20, 2007
The tables have turned on Judge Thomas Porteous. The man charged with meting out justice himself faces serious judicial scrutiny -- again. A special investigative panel has referred Judge Porteous, a federal judge in New Orleans, for impeachment proceedings...

Little Pink Houses

Posted on December 04, 2007
If it takes a village to raise a child, perhaps it take a movie star to build a village. While the City and State seem content to sit on their hands and point fingers, Brad Pitt is putting his money and star power where his mouth is. With his own $5 million, another $5 million from philanthropist Steve Bing, and other significant pledges, Mr...

Fall from Grace

Posted on November 22, 2007
Disgraced former Councilman Oliver Thomas was sentenced yesterday for his admitted bribery. He got 37 months in prison, the maximum recommended sentence given the nature of the crime and his criminal history. This is a pathetic end to a promising career...

It's the accounting, stupid!

Posted on November 22, 2007
Sheriff Marlin Gusman admits he overcharged the City $2 million for prisoners in his custody that were actually federal inmates for which the federal government has already paid. He supposedly refunded the money (with interest?), but this is the second time in a month Gusman has had to fess up to double billing the City...

The Color of Money

Posted on November 04, 2007
Bill Jefferson, the disgraced Congressman who keeps bribe money in his freezer, has weighed in on DA Eddie Jordan's resignation. Jefferson concludes that Jordan merely sought to replace the non-legal staff with persons who were loyal to his election campaign...

Hari Kari, Nola Style

Posted on October 30, 2007
At least Eddie Jordan got something right as DA. He resigned. Maybe not quite as honorable as Japanese Hari Kari, but he's finished as Orleans Parish DA all the same. I don't know Mr. Jordan personally and have no informed opinion on his integrity, but I think it's fair to say he was not working out as the DA...

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction

Posted on October 26, 2007
Eddie Jordan, the embattled DA of Orleans Parish, can't seem to avoid controversy. This story is downright bizarre.

The Kingfish of Jefferson

Posted on October 03, 2007
Jefferson Parish will have to anoint its first new sheriff since 1980. The beloved and sometimes reviled Sheriff Harry Lee has passed away. Harry Lee was an institution, an indefatigable, one-man political machine. He was no stranger to controversy, often taking an overtly racist -- some say realist -- view of law enforcement...

And now for something completely different.

Posted on August 24, 2007
Not! Monty Python couldn't make up this outrageous outrageous story. A judge in Ohio appointed a public defender to handle an assault case and insisted that the public defender go to trial on two-day's notice. When the lawyer refused to proceed because he did not have time to prepare, the held him in contempt and ordered him to jail...

More of the same.

Posted on August 13, 2007
Breaking News: Oliver Thomas -- New Orleans City Councilman -- has pleaded guilty to bribery. Just another corrupt politician using his office, and abusing the public trust, to make a buck for himself. This, in my view, is a truly insidious crime that tears the very fabric of society...

Bad News is Good News?

Posted on August 10, 2007
Or so Mayor Nagin would like to have it. In a poor attempt at political sophistry, Mr. Nagin tries to spin murder into a good thing for the City. He says all the press coverage about the City's over-active murder industry is a "two-edged sword." He worries only "somewhat" that the murder rate is hurting the economy because, he reasons, all the negative press at least gets the "New Orleans brand out there...

Congressional Office is a Member's Castle?

Posted on August 03, 2007
Representative Bill Jefferson, who faces criminal prosecution for bribery, surely will claim victory today. That's what politicians do. They spin even bad news into good; they make the mundane sound momentous. A federal appeals court ruled today that the search of the Congressman's office was illegal, at least in part...

Louisiana's Chief Persecutor

Posted on July 25, 2007
Louisiana's Attorney General, Charles Foti, needs to move on. The grand jury found no probable cause to pursue murder charges against a doctor accused of killing her patients during Hurricane Katrina. Probable cause is a very low standard. To borrow from the old adage, the grand jury essentially told the prosecutors that their case fell at least a slice of bread short of a ham sandwich...

Mercy Killing

Posted on July 24, 2007
It has been a long battle, but a grand jury mercifully put an end to Attorney General Foti's misguided prosecution of Dr. Pou and two nurses from Memorial hospital who stood accused of killing several terminally ill patients during Hurricane Katrina. Score one for common sense...

PD Update

Posted on July 16, 2007
Several people have asked me about the current state of affairs in New Orleans. This article provides a good summary of the public defender system. In short, it is on the right track, but it has a way to go. Having worked with some of the people named in the article, I can assure you it is in good hands...

Crime Solution: A Group Hug

Posted on July 13, 2007
A glass of red wine a day supposedly keeps your heart in order. Who knew a little wine and cheese, coupled with a group hug, could ward off crime. This story is unbelievable, but true.

Vitter's Vittles

Posted on July 11, 2007
We're all tired of sanctimonious lawmakers being outed for their own indiscretions, and probably equally tired of hearing that we should care about what politicians do in the privacy of their own bedrooms (or offices). But Ann Althouse makes a compelling point about the imbalance between Senator Vitter's self-pardon and the continuing prosecution of the madam who allegedly served him.

Trading Places

Posted on July 02, 2007
The President has commuted the sentence of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, who stands convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice. This means Libby remains, nominally, a convicted felon, but he has been spared the inconvenience of a two-and-a-half year jail sentence...

Prescription for a Healthcare Crisis

Posted on June 20, 2007
The first law of medicine is to do no harm to one's patient. The second should be not to let politicians make medical decisions lest you harm the profession, thereby harming patients. A doctor and some nurses in New Orleans stand accused of violating the first...

Out in the Cold

Posted on June 08, 2007
The only surprise about Congressman Bill Jefferson's indictment on bribery charges is how long it took the government to file charges. Mr. Jefferson stands accused of using his office to solicit bribes in connection with business deals in Africa, and the $90,000 in marked bills found in his freezer should put the deep freeze on his defense...

The Case for New Orleans

Posted on May 31, 2007
?It's not our fault!? In fits of finger pointing and a rhetorical flourish in his first State of the City address since before Hurricane Katrina, Mayor C. Ray Nagin laid bare the guiding principle of his recovery plan for the City. If only the State and Federal governments would open the spigot and let the money flow, we could rebuild our hopes and dreams...

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