Archive for April, 2011

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Jazz Fest Kicks Into Full Swing Today

April 29th, 2011 | Posted in Local Issues by bloom | No Comments »

Today marks the first major day for Jazz Fest 2011 and the city is already visibly packed with tourists and festival-goers of all sorts. Many rental properties are being occupied exclusively for the festival weekend and traffic near the fairgrounds is piling up.

National acts playing today’s Fess include:
Jeff Beck (3:20 Acura Stage)
Mumford and Sons (3:25 Gentilly Stage)
Robert Plant & The Band of Joy (5:25 Acura Stage)
The Avett Brothers (5:30 Gentilly Stage)
Wyclef Jean (5:30 Congo Square Stage)

Locals not to miss:
George Porter Jr (12:25 Acura Stage)
Joe Krown Trio w/ Walter “Wolfman” Washington and Russell Batiste Jr (1:20 Blues Tent)
Jon Cleary (1:50 Acura Stage)
The Subdudes (1:55 Gentilly Stage)

This year’s Festival will also play host to a large number of Haitian acts in a gesture of solidarity with the ravaged nation.

For the full schedule and lineup click HERE.

As always, if you are arrested in New Orleans while in town for Jazz Fest or any other reason, Bloom Legal is here to help 24/7. Call us at 504-599-9997 for a free case evaluation.

President Obama Releases Long Form Birth Certificate

April 27th, 2011 | Posted in National Issues by bloom | No Comments »

For two and a half years the “birther” movement has questioned whether President Obama is a natural born citizen and eligible to be commander in chief, despite the fact that his standard short form certificate has been publicly available since the start of his term. The conspiracy theorists have demanded the president’s long form birth certificate as proof of citizenship, and today their wishes are fulfilled.

Photo Courtesy of thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com

The evidence that Obama was born in Hawaii was substantial before this release with every official in Hawaii, Democrat and Republican, and every news outlet that has investigated attesting that the president was born in Kapiolani Hospital.

In a press conference the president explained his reasons for releasing the document. Obama was bemused when, despite crucial legislative bills being debated, “that entire week the dominant news story wasn’t about these huge, monumental choices that we’re going to have to make as a nation. It was about my birth certificate.” He then urged the nation to ignore the yelling of, “carnival barkers,” a thinly veiled reference to Donald Trump, who reignited the “birther” conspiracy in the news.

This gesture will doubtfully quiet the conspiracy theories. Already birther.org is changing their arguments and Donald Trump has begun questioning Obama’s school records, despite calling the birth certificate release a personal victory.

Lakers Backup Arrested for Battery in New Orleans

April 25th, 2011 | Posted in Celebrity Justice, Local Issues, NOPD by bloom | No Comments »

Derrick Caracter, a backup forward for the Los Angeles Lakers (who were beaten by the New Orleans Hornets in the NBA Playoffs last night), was arrested early Sunday morning for allegedly hitting a pregnant waitress at the Canal St IHOP downtown.

Photo Courtesy of NOLA.com

Caracter apparently became involved in an altercation with the waitress after attempting to grab and pull her. This prompted the IHOP’s manager to flag down a nearby female NOPD officer who eventually intervened, arresting Caracter on charges of public intoxication, resisting arrest, and battery.

The Laker has been released from jail but the circumstances surrounding his bond are unknown at this time.

For more on this story as it develops, visit NOLA.com

Based upon a press release from today, NOPD’s version of the story is as follows:

(April 25, 2011) – Eighth District officers arrested Los Angeles Lakers’, Derrick Caracter, 22, after he grabbed and shoved a pregnant cashier at the IHOP Restaurant in the 800 block of Canal Street.

Caracter was refused service at the restaurant around 1:00 A.M. Sunday morning, because he was obviously drunk, unruly and started harassing the pregnant cashier. One officer was called to the restaurant, and attempted to diffuse the situation. But Caracter was uncooperative, so that officer called in back-up. Caracter continued to be belligerent with police and was subsequently arrested.

Caracter was booked with Simple Battery on the pregnant woman, Public Drunkenness and Resisting Arrest.

The Public Affairs Office is trying to obtain a copy of video surveillance recorded by an IHOP camera.

Crescent City Classic To Run Tomorrow – Parts of Downtown Closed to Traffic

April 22nd, 2011 | Posted in Local Issues, Traffic by bloom | No Comments »

The City of New Orleans has issued parking instructions and reminders in advance of the Crescent City Classic 10K road race scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 23, 2011. The event is expected to attract more than 20,000 walkers and runners to the city.

Photo Courtesy of Nola.com

The race begins at 8:30 a.m. at the corner of Decatur and St. Peter Streets in the French Quarter. The race lines up along Decatur Street with the starting line at St. Peter, in front of Jackson Square.

In anticipation of the Crescent City Classic race, citizens are encouraged to take alternate routes and heed the following closures:

No vehicular traffic will be allowed on Decatur between St. Louis and Dumaine beginning at 6:30 a.m.

No vehicular traffic will be allowed on N. Peters between Canal and Conti beginning at 8 a.m.

The remainder of the race course will be closed to vehicular traffic beginning at 8:20 a.m.

If safe to do so, officers will allow traffic to cross the route until the runners have reached their intersections.

The French Quarter will reopen to local vehicular traffic by 9:30 a.m.

The lake bound lanes of Poydras Street will reopen to local vehicular traffic by 9:30 a.m.

N. Rampart will reopen to local vehicular traffic by 10:30 a.m.

The last walker should enter City Park turning from City Park Avenue onto Anseman Avenue no later than 11-11:30 a.m.

State Rep From Metairie to File Anti-Abortion Legislation

April 20th, 2011 | Posted in Courts, Local Issues, National Issues by bloom | No Comments »

John LaBruzzo, a Republican state legislator from Metairie (who last made headlines in ’08 when he announced that he was studying a plan to pay poor women $1000 to get their tubes tied), has filed a bill which would ban all abortions in the state of Louisiana and also subject any doctors performing abortions to criminal charges.

According to reports, LaBruzzo’s original draft includes criminal charges against women receiving abortions but the lawmaker elected to amend them out for fear that their inclusion would make the bill too difficult to pass. (Although it would appear that if this were not the case, then the provisions would have remained).

LaBruzzo has indicated that he decided to file House Bill 587 after being approached by an unnamed conservative religious organization. It would appear that the intent is to head directly into lawsuits designed to take a case to the Supreme Court.

It is unclear at this point what has inspired LaBruzzo to deem himself a worthy challenger of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision which has stood since 1973 and effectively legalizes abortion in the United States although it is easy to speculate that this is a bid for publicity and the currying of favor from politically-connected conservative religious organizations.

Nicolas Cage Arrested for Domestic Abuse in New Orleans

April 20th, 2011 | Posted in Celebrity Justice, DUI/DWI, Local Issues, NOPD by bloom | 2 Comments »

Actor Nicolas Cage was arrested on Friday night in the French Quarter. According to sources, Mr. Cage was seen having an argument with his wife outside of a French Quarter residence and at some point became agitated and began punching cars before attempting to get into a cab.

Police officers who had been flagged down by onlookers removed Mr. Cage from the cab and arrested him. He has been charged with domestic abuse battery, disturbing the peace, and public drunkenness.

In a strange development, Mr. Cage’s $11,000 bond was posted by Dog The Bounty Hunter who has averred that he is a big fan of the actor’s.

It is unclear at this point what the exact circumstances leading up to Mr. Cage’s arrest were or how his legal situation will turn out.

If you or someone you know are arrested in the French Quarter or anywhere else in New Orleans, Bloom Legal is here to help. Call us 24/7 at 504-599-9997 for a free case evaluation to discuss how we might be able to assist you.

Mayor Faces Resistance in Demolishing Blighted Properties

April 18th, 2011 | Posted in Katrina, Local Issues by bloom | No Comments »

Mayor Mitch Landrieu has been following through on his plan to clean up 10,000 of the cities nuisance properties by 2014. However, preservationists, including the producers of the HBO series Treme, have spoken out against the demolition of a section of shotgun houses in Central City.

Photo Courtesy of nola.com

Images of the houses had been used in Treme’s promotional material multiple times. Producers of the show wrote a letter, which was hand delivered to the Mayor’s office, in support of leaving the buildings. The letter is quoted as saying, “These structures were in disrepair to be sure, but they were perfect for us because they showed both the burden and the promise of this great city, the threat of collapse and the hope of renewal.”

Despite the poetic words, yesterday a bulldozer tore through the row of dilapidated buildings. The Mayor’s plan to remove blight focused on crumbling buildings near schools and playgrounds. The shotgun houses served as a tempting yet dangerous play spot to children at a nearby playground.

As the city continues to grow and repair, it is important to come to terms with what will be left behind. These shotgun houses were an important part of New Orleans’ architectural history, but rather than fighting to preserve the ruins of our past, we should be ensuring a promising future that is uniquely New Orleans.

DWI Checkpoint Tonight – Lakeview!

April 15th, 2011 | Posted in DUI/DWI, Local Issues, NOPD by bloom | 1 Comment »

NOPD has issued a statement today indicating that it will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint tonight (Friday 4/15) in the Lakeview area from approximately 9pm to 5am. No specific indication as to the location of the checkpoint will be released.

Photo Courtesy of dallasnews.com

Drivers are advised to have the proper documentation (proof of insurance, registration, driver’s license, etc) available if requested.

Check out our printable Glovebox Reference Guide for information regarding how to respond when pulled over or arrested for DWI.

While we certainly do not condone this type of behavior, should you or someone you know get behind the wheel after a night at the bar and get arrested or charged with a DUI/DWI, Bloom Legal is here (504-599-9997) to provide assistance to you in getting all of your affairs back in order.

-Bloom Legal LLC 700 Camp St Ste 212 New Orleans, LA 70130-

Cycling While Intoxicated

April 13th, 2011 | Posted in DUI/DWI by bloom | No Comments »

There are many subtleties in the DWI law code, and almost all of them are designed to take drivers off of the road and put them in a cell. Benjamin Edwards, 23, learned this the hard way when he was charged with a DWI while riding his bicycle.

Photo Courtesy of wgal.com

After a night of drinking, Edwards decided to take his bike home, which is just slightly more sensible than driving, but when police questioned the obviously intoxicated man, he had a blood alcohol content of 0.3, over three times the legal limit of .08.

At this point the story takes a decidedly un-funny turn as Edwards attempted to run from police, making it a few hundred feet before being detained. The young man was charged with public drunkenness, DUI, resisting arrest, and flight to avoid apprehension.

Edwards undoubtedly thought he was putting one past law enforcement by cycling home, but we would like to make clear that operating any vehicle under the influence can land you in jail. Cars, bicycles, lawnmowers, and even horses are still subject to DWI laws, although if only the horse is drunk, you might be all right. Your feet and a cab are the only safe rides home after a night of drinking.

If you or anyone you know is charged with DWI, an experienced legal defense is vital. Contact Bloom Legal at 504-599-9997, so that we can fight for you.

Drugs Coming into Louisiana from out of State

April 11th, 2011 | Posted in Drugs, Local Issues by bloom | 1 Comment »

This week has seen a number of drug charges for out of state residents with a Virginia woman’s attempt to transport 81 pounds of marijuana on I-12 and an Alabama man’s hotel room meth lab.

Photo Courtesy of greenwichmeantime.com

The woman, Tasharian Riddick, was pulled over on I-12 for improper lane usage. When the officer noticed Tasharia showing “signs of nervousness,” he asked to search the car and was denied. A K-9 unit arrived on the scene and indicated the presence of drugs in the car. The officers then found 81 pounds of marijuana in the trunk of the car.

In an unrelated incident, Alabama resident, Bradon Bell was arrested in connection with an explosion in a Slidell hotel room while apparently trying to set up a meth lab. The blast damaged the room’s dry wall and forced the entire floor to be evacuated, but luckily no one was injured.

If you or anyone you know has been charged with the possession of an illegal substance, contact Bloom Legal at 504-599-9997 for a free consultation

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