Louisiana

Courts Close, Prisoners Move in Advance of Gustav

As Hurricane Gustav approached landfall on Sunday afternoon, most Louisiana courts expected to be closed at least through Tuesday, and perhaps longer. Civil and Criminal District courts in New Orleans are scheduled to be closed through Tuesday. The state’s Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal will be closed through Wednesday. The…

Aug 31, 2008 10:31 PM CDT

ABA Leader Hunkers Down in Path of Gustav

Franchesca Hamilton-Acker, a Lafayette, La., lawyer who serves as the ABA Young Lawyers Division representative for the state, is getting ready for Hurricane Gustav to come ashore and—after the storm passes—to provide legal assistance to victims of Gustav. The Federal Emergency Management Agency often taps the ABA in the wake…

Aug 31, 2008 9:04 PM CDT

AG Finds Gas Price-Gouging in Advance of Gustav

Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell received more than 300 complaints by late Saturday of gas stations jacking up the price of fuel as hundreds of thousands of residents made their way inland in advance of Hurricane Gustav, according to Baton Rouge’s WAFB-TV. Investigators cited three stations for violations; the stations…

Aug 31, 2008 8:41 PM CDT

Live from Gustav: Ernie the Twittering Attorney

If Hurricane Gustav is anything like 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, lawyers who blog will be cut off from the outside world when the storm comes ashore and the power goes out. But Twitter—a microblogging service that limits posts to 140 characters and can be updated and read from cell phones—may provide…

Aug 31, 2008 6:38 PM CDT

Law Firm Uses Technology to Operate During Hurricane Gustav

Founded shortly after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Wolfe Law Group—with offices in New Orleans and Seattle—is using technology to continue to function during Hurricane Gustav. The four-lawyer firm represents contractors and suppliers in the construction business. Its telephone system runs on Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP), so calls can…

Aug 31, 2008 6:11 PM CDT

Jones Walker to Wed Miller Hamilton, Forming 270-Lawyer Southern Shop

A New Orleans-based law firm is acquiring a Mobile, Ala., counterpart, forming a 270-lawyer combination effective Sept. 1. The merged firm will retain the Jones Walker Waechter Poitevent Carrère & Denègre name, and William Hines as managing partner, according to a press release. Mobile-based Miller Hamilton Snider & Odom, which…

Aug 14, 2008 10:03 PM CDT

Jena 6 Judge is Removed from Case

The judge in charge of hearing the charges against the remaining Jena 6 defendants has been removed from the case. Saying that there was an appearance of impropriety, Judge Thomas Yeager of Rapides Parish, La., removed LaSalle Parish District Judge J.P. Mauffray from the case today, in response to a…

Aug 1, 2008 4:35 PM CDT

Disaster’s Disciples

About a week after Rob Verchick began teaching his fall 2005 environmental law course at Loyola University New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina hit.

Aug 1, 2008 1:00 PM CDT

New Attorney Ad Rules for La. Lawyers as of Dec. 1

New advertising standards for Louisiana lawyers are slated to go into effect on December 1, but some practitioners feel they could still using a bit of tweaking. For the first time, the new rules approved by the Louisiana Supreme Court will require prior approval of lawyer advertising, by a Louisiana…

Jul 24, 2008 11:14 PM CDT

Woodfox Conviction Axed, After 35 Years in Solitary, But Appeal is Planned

Albert Woodfox, a former member of the Black Panthers, has been held in solitary confinement for more than 35 years for the 1972 murder of a Louisiana prison guard. On Tuesday, he won a reprieve when a federal judge agreed with a magistrate’s recommendation that his conviction should be overturned…

Jul 10, 2008 6:09 PM CDT

RIP: Janet Mary Riley, Crusading Women’s Rights Lawyer

A longtime Loyola University New Orleans School of Law professor who is credited with making Louisiana women equal partners in their marriages died Saturday. Janet Mary Riley was 92. A Loyola law librarian-turned-law student, Riley was Loyola Law’s first female professor, and she took the job in part because she…

Jul 8, 2008 6:10 PM CDT

Misconduct Findings Against Federal Judge Forwarded to House

The U.S. Judicial Conference has forwarded to the House of Representatives its misconduct findings against U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous. The impeachment recommendation said the group had found substantial evidence that Porteous committed perjury and failed to disclose gifts he accepted from lawyers appearing before him, the New Orleans Times-Picayune…

Jun 20, 2008 1:18 PM CDT

Reprimand Recommended for Lawyers Who Fought After Trading ‘Jackass’ Barbs

Updated: Two Louisiana lawyers who traded barbs and got into a short physical altercation during a court proceeding have landed in trouble with the state attorney discipline board. According to a hearing committee report on the May 2006 incident, lawyer Douglas H. Greenburg called his opposing lawyer a “jackass” during…

May 13, 2008 1:54 PM CDT

Warden of La. Prison Says Bear is Unpaid Guard

A big black bear spotted on the grounds of the Louisiana State Penitentiary has a job to do. Burl Cain, warden of the state prison known as Angola, told the Associated Press the bear is helping with prison security. “I love that bear being right where it is,” he said.…

May 6, 2008 3:40 PM CDT

May 18, 1896

Supreme Court rules in Plessy v. Ferguson

May 1, 2008 8:07 PM CDT