Louisiana

A few DAs account for most death sentences, law prof finds; one calls for more ‘revenge’ executions

An outspoken Louisiana prosecutor is a prime example of what a law professor describes as “a personality-driven death penalty” in the United States. Caddo Parish, where acting district attorney Dale Cox works, has sentenced more convicted defendants to death, on a per-capita basis, than perhaps any other county in the…

Jul 7, 2015 2:45 PM CDT

ACLU suit challenges Louisiana governor’s ‘marriage and conscience order’

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal’s “marriage and conscience order” is being challenged in a lawsuit that claims the executive action exceeded his powers. The suit (PDF) was filed on Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Louisiana, the Forum for Equality Foundation and six New Orleans residents, according to…

Jul 1, 2015 9:21 AM CDT

Feds arrest 243 in record $712M health care billing-fraud bust

The FBI announced Thursday that 243 people, including nearly 50 health-care professionals, have been arrested in a record Medicare and Medicaid billing-fraud bust. “They billed for equipment that wasn’t provided, for care that wasn’t needed, and for services that weren’t rendered,” said U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch in an FBI…

Jun 19, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Private investigator pleads guilty to bribing DA staffers in exchange for favorable treatment

A private investigator has pleaded guilty to charges that he bribed employees of the Lafayette, Louisiana, District Attorney’s Office in exchange for favorable treatment for his clients. Robert Williamson, 64, pleaded guilty Monday to charges of conspiracy, bribery and Social Security fraud at the start of jury selection in his…

Jun 10, 2015 3:30 PM CDT

Man on trial in bail-jumping case exits courtroom as lawyers talk with judge in chambers

Free on bond in a gun-possession and bail-jumping case, a 29-year-old New Orleans man was in court there Thursday for a jury trial. But at some point during an in-chambers conference between the lawyers and the judge in the case, Harry Riggins walked out of the courtroom past a bailiff…

May 21, 2015 2:20 PM CDT

2 lawyers convicted in scheme to get film-industry tax credits without paying required expenses

Two prominent lawyers were convicted Monday by a federal jury in New Orleans for their roles in a scheme by three business partners to obtain film-industry tax credits from the state of Louisiana without paying required expenses. Found guilty of conspiracy and mail fraud charges were attorneys Michael Arata, a…

Apr 28, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

2 attorneys on trial for allegedly defrauding state tax credit program

Two lawyers and a spouse of one of them, acting as business partners, “exploited every human being that they could” to defraud a Louisiana tax program intended to encourage expansion of the state’s film industry, a federal prosecutor told a New Orleans jury on Monday. Defendant Michael Arata, a New…

Apr 15, 2015 3:55 PM CDT

State troopers get booted, arrest the parking attendant and remove boot themselves, suit says

Two Louisiana state troopers who returned from an apparent meal break, found that their unmarked, unlawfully parked pickup truck had gotten the boot and demanded that a parking attendant remove it. Then, when he refused to do so without getting paid the required $90 fee, they arrested the attendant, took…

Apr 14, 2015 2:25 PM CDT

Man who punched sister’s accused killer in court is held in contempt and fined $100

Initially told by a Louisiana judge that he faced jail time for punching a shackled murder defendant in a Jefferson Parish courtroom last week, 34-year-old Adam Dozier caught a break on Wednesday. Represented by a public defender, he apologized to Judge Lee Faulkner and was found in contempt of court…

Apr 9, 2015 9:00 AM CDT

Appeals court: Driver who kicked drunken friend out of his car is liable for 3rd-party hit-and-run

Drunk and belligerent, Piero Larrea was kicked out of a friend’s car on the way home from a New Orleans bar on Oct. 29, 2011. Then he died in a hit-and-run accident after John Cefalu pulled away. Sued by Larrea’s dad, Cefalu was found liable for 28 percent of a…

Apr 1, 2015 9:00 AM CDT

Prosecutor: I was ‘arrogant, judgmental, narcissistic’ in capital prosecution of now-exonerated man

A former Louisiana prosecutor who helped send a now-exonerated inmate to death row in 1984 is condemning the capital punishment process and apologizing for his role in the conviction. In a letter to the editor of the Times of Shreveport, former prosecutor A.M. “Marty” Stroud III said there was no…

Mar 25, 2015 8:31 AM CDT

As a growing number of states enact ‘rehoming’ laws, Facebook reportedly disables adoption page

Responding to news of parents placing children they find difficult to deal with in the care of strangers they identify as potential caretakers via the Internet, a growing number of lawmakers are enacting legislation to curtail the controversial practice. Meanwhile, Facebook has disabled an “Adoption Through Disruption” page being used…

Mar 23, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Federal judge sanctions 3 lawyers, says they can’t file oil spill claims against BP

A federal judge in New Orleans sanctioned three lawyers on Thursday, barring them from handling claims against BP concerning the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier said at an earlier hearing that Lionel Sutton III, Jonathan Andry and Glen Lerner acted unethically when they coordinated to…

Feb 27, 2015 3:22 PM CST

Lawyer gets 1-day suspended sentence in taxicab incident; civil rights suit by driver is ongoing

A Louisiana lawyer and former radio show host was given a one-day suspended sentence and a day of inactive probation on Wednesday when she was sentenced in a misdemeanor case that began as a felony prosecution. Although glad to have been convicted of criminal mischief rather than the felony false…

Feb 26, 2015 10:30 AM CST

Judge kicks defense lawyer off attempted murder case for failing to participate

Updated: A New Orleans judge has kicked a criminal defense lawyer off an attempted murder case after he failed to show up in court on Monday and refused to participate in jury selection the next day. Judge Nancy Miller of Jefferson Parish removed lawyer DaShawn Hayes from the case on…

Jan 29, 2015 6:15 AM CST