The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued an emergency stay at the request of the City of New Orleans against Judge Paulette Irons’ ruling last week that traffic cameras violate the city’s charter. The...
Category: Courts
Corps of Engineers Contractor Open to Liability in Katrina Levee Failure
September 17, 2010
In a decision on Tuesday, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a federal judge’s ruling that Washington Group International (a contractor employed by the Army Corps of Engineers) was entitled to...
Facebook Comment Causes Juror to be Removed and Fined
September 15, 2010
As social media come to dominate more and more of our daily lives, unexpected consequences are emerging in a number of arenas. Recently, a Michigan juror selected to sit on the trial of a woman accused of resisting arrest was
Supreme Court to Hear Case of New Orleans Prosecution Misconduct
September 9, 2010
The Supreme Court will take on a New Orleans case, Connick vs. Thompson, in October, from a murder trial in 1985. The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office is being held responsible for a suspected failure to train...
First ‘Synthetic Marijuana’ Arrest Made in Louisiana
August 18, 2010
Police in Slidell have reported what appears to be the first arrest in Louisiana for possession of a marijuana substitute commonly referred to as “Mojo” (also known as “spice”) in conjunction with a...
The Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office has been running a program since October 2009 that allows individuals convicted of non-violent crimes to avoid incarceration. The New Orleans Day Reporting Center involves 2 levels of
The Orleans Parish Criminal District Court has released numbers from a Metropolitan Crime Commission analysis of 2009 showing that judges have reduced the buildup of old cases on their dockets. Following Hurricane Katrina,...
A recent ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court has upheld a 30-year sentence for a Breaux Bridge woman who plead guilty to vehicular homicide after killing 2 people in a car accident while on a cocaine binge. Her lawyers had
Louisiana Judge’s Investments Under Scrutiny
July 10, 2010
In the wake of U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman’s decision to lift the ban on offshore drilling established by President Obama, supporters of the moratorium have raised concern about whether the judge should have recused
Judge wants to end moratorium
June 23, 2010
On Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman stated that there should be an injunction on the federal moratorium for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico during the next six months. Instead of allowing the executive...
The Supreme Court ruled Monday May 17, 2010 that juveniles could no longer be handed down life sentences for crimes other than murders. In a 5-4 decision, the court decided that there must be “a meaningful opportunity to...
Supreme Court Rules that Life Imprisonment Without Parole for Minors is Unconstitutional
May 23, 2010
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that it is unconstitutional for a court to sentence a minor to life imprisonment without parole unless he or she commits murder. The Supreme Court ruled that such sentences are...
Cannizzaro Changes Means of Marijuana Prosecution
April 20, 2010
On August 6, 2009, Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro Jr. proposed to the New Orleans City Council to pass an ordinance that would allow for simple possession of marijuana cases to be tried in municipal court...
While awaiting trial for murder, New Orleans man gets life sentence for past crimes
February 3, 2010
By Gwen Filosa, The Times-Picayune February 03, 2010, 11:53AM clifford-pierce.jpgOrleans Criminal Sheriff’s DepartmentClifford G. PierceAn Orleans Parish judge has sentenced Clifford Pierce, 35, to life in prison...
Orleans Parish grand jury indicts three in connection with four New Orleans homicides
February 1, 2010
By Bob Ross, The Times-Picayune January 30, 2010, 2:00AM An Orleans Parish grand jury on Friday indicted three people in connection with four homicides, all of which happened in recent months, authorities said. Bryan Hill,...
Metairie man admits supplying co-worker’s fatal heroin
January 31, 2010
By Drew Broach, The Times-Picayune January 29, 2010, 11:45PM A Metairie man who supplied the heroin that killed his restaurant co-worker during Carnival 2008 has pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiracy and...
Metairie man pleads guilty to dealing Ecstasy
January 29, 2010
By Michelle Hunter, The Times-Picayune January 28, 2010, 5:22PM A Metairie man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty Thursday in federal court to dealing Ecstasy. Lance Gassen, 24, of 2720 Independence St.,...
New Orleans ‘Saintsmania’ drives judge to delay trial
January 28, 2010
By Gwen Filosa, The Times-Picayune January 27, 2010, 5:47PM saints-fans-midfield.JPGBrett Duke / The Times-Picayune’The court takes judicial notice that Saintsmania permeates the city of New Orleans,’ Judge...





