Louisiana

Afternoon Briefs: Trump must provide tax returns, court says; DA accepts gift cards in exchange for community service

Trump loses bid to block turnover of tax records, plans U.S. Supreme Court appeal President Donald Trump can’t block a subpoena for his private tax records from New York prosecutors investigating hush-money payments made before the 2016 presidential election, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals…

Nov 4, 2019 4:28 PM CST

Woman gets 22 years in prison after showing up at her lawyer’s office with a loaded shotgun

A 78-year-old woman found guilty of raising a loaded shotgun toward her former lawyer before he wrestled it away from her has been sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Oct 28, 2019 10:22 AM CDT

Supreme Court to review Louisiana abortion law nearly identical to Texas law it struck down in 2016

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to review the constitutionality of a Louisiana abortion law that requires doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges at nearby hospitals.

Oct 4, 2019 9:57 AM CDT

‘Gate money’ for released prisoners is usually chump change

Some formerly incarcerated people say it’s often not enough to meet their basic needs

Sep 11, 2019 2:49 PM CDT

Fines-and-fees system that helps fund court budget is unconstitutional, 5th Circuit rules

A federal appeals panel has ruled that a system of criminal fines and fees in the New Orleans criminal court was unconstitutional because the money is used to support a general fund overseen by the court’s judges.

Aug 30, 2019 10:32 AM CDT

Jailhouse lawyer who fought nonunanimous jury verdicts helped propel issue to Supreme Court

A former jailhouse lawyer in Louisiana who had a 10th grade education identified an issue that is now before the U.S. Supreme Court: whether it is constitutional to allow nonunanimous verdicts in state criminal trials.

Aug 6, 2019 9:26 AM CDT

Justice of the peace accused of longtime domestic abuse is suspended from the bench

The Louisiana Supreme Court has suspended a justice of the peace accused of abusing his former live-in girlfriend and her children for more than a decade. The court said Aug. 1 that 55-year-old Moses Evans Jr., a former Baton Rouge police officer, was disqualified from any judicial function while proceedings…

Aug 5, 2019 12:49 PM CDT

Lawyer held in contempt for recording defendant’s mouth being taped shut on judge’s orders

A public defender in Louisiana has been found in contempt of court for taking out his cellphone and recording a talkative defendant’s mouth being taped shut on a judge’s orders. Judge Marilyn Castle of Lafayette found lawyer Michael Gregory in contempt Friday, fined him $100, and banned him from bringing…

Jul 29, 2019 11:39 AM CDT

Public defender accused of working without a law license in over 100 cases

A public defender in New Orleans is under investigation for allegedly practicing law without a license in more than 100 cases. The staff lawyer, Ashley Crawford, was pulled from cases while the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office conducts a criminal investigation, report the New Orleans Advocate, WVUE, WDSU and 4WWL.…

Jun 25, 2019 11:12 AM CDT

In states where inmates can vote, few exercise their right to cast ballots

When Sen. Bernie Sanders championed voting rights for prisoners during a CNN town hall, he spotlighted an intensifying national debate about why going to prison means losing the right to vote.

Jun 14, 2019 7:30 AM CDT

More families of murder victims will qualify for financial assistance; report helped fuel state’s legislation

Victims of crime encounter many unanticipated costs, such as funeral expenses, lost wages and hospital bills. Every state maintains a fund to help ease that burden, but under a long-standing rule in Louisiana, victims with a felony record were excluded.

Jun 11, 2019 10:38 AM CDT

Judge steered defendants to campaign contributor’s ankle-monitor company, report says

A criminal court judge in New Orleans steered defendants to an ankle-monitoring company owned by campaign contributors, according to a report released last week by the nonprofit Court Watch NOLA. Judge Paul Bonin sent 15 defendants to ETOH Monitoring last year and four defendants to a different company, according to…

May 20, 2019 1:20 PM CDT

‘Anti-defense bill’ would put public defenders at risk of jail and hamper their work, critics say

Critics say legislation passed by the Louisiana House of Representatives would put public defenders in an ethical quandary and put them at risk of jail time. Dane Ciolino, a law professor at Loyola University at New Orleans, calls the legislation an “anti-defense bill” that is unnecessary and one-sided, the Appeal…

May 13, 2019 9:31 AM CDT

Juvenile lifer, now 72, won landmark Supreme Court case but remains behind bars

A 72-year-old Louisiana inmate who was 17 when he killed a sheriff’s deputy must remain in prison, despite his U.S. Supreme Court victory in January 2016. Parole was denied for Henry Montgomery on April 11, report the Advocate, the Associated Press and Mother Jones. Parole is not granted absent a…

Apr 17, 2019 7:00 AM CDT

Are unanimous juries required in state criminal cases? SCOTUS will consider overruling precedent

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to consider whether to overrule a 1972 case that allowed nonunanimous verdicts in state criminal trials. The court agreed to decide whether the Sixth Amendment requires unanimity in the case of Louisiana inmate Evangelisto Ramos, who was sentenced to life in prison after…

Mar 18, 2019 3:00 PM CDT