Criminal Justice
NOPD not a few bad apples but a ‘bad orchard,’ community group says
NEW ORLEANS — Leaders from the Community United for Change called on U.S. District Judge Susie Morgan on Wednesday to keep the New Orleans Police Department bound to a federal consent decree and not give into the city’s pleas to end it now. The Police Department has been subject to the mandates in the consent […]
Judges forcing in-court appearances are violating the law, disability-rights activists say
Concerned about evictions that are already taking place and fearing an overwhelming wave of evictions on the horizon, a collection of civil rights attorneys, fair housing advocates and disability-rights advocates has asked Louisiana Chief Justice Bernette Johnson to order lower courts to make reasonable accommodations for people who are more vulnerable to COVID-19. In a […]
Caddo Parish grand jury accuses 8 Shreveport police officers of using excessive force
A week after the Louisiana Legislature agreed to study police abuse in Louisiana, a grand jury in Caddo Parish handed up indictments against eight Shreveport police officers who booked two men on drug and weapons charges and running from the police Jan. 24. Caddo Parish District Attorney James E. Stewart said in a Tuesday press […]
House Democrats and 3 Republicans pass George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
WASHINGTON — The U.S. House passed a sweeping police reform package Thursday night in response to massive civil unrest over police brutality. The package cleared the chamber largely along partisan lines, with 236 lawmakers (mostly Democrats) voting for it and 181 lawmakers (180 Republicans and one Independent) voting against it. Three Republicans sided with Democrats […]
Local public defenders budget reduced in Louisiana Senate proposal
Update: The Louisiana Senate reversed its initial reduction to local public defender offices when it approved the budget Friday afternoon. It moved back to the original public defender funding breakdown drawn up by the Louisiana House. The Legislature is expect to approve the final version of the total state operating budget by Tuesday. The new […]
Louisiana Lawmakers support police study – as long as it doesn’t talk about George Floyd
The Louisiana Legislature overwhelmingly supports the study of policing tactics. Lawmakers appear likely to set up a new task force to examine law enforcement practices over the next year — with the goal of recommending legislation to change state policing laws in 2021. But White Republican lawmakers in the House haven’t wanted to link that […]
Rep. Richmond slams Senate GOP’s ‘watered-down’ police reform bill
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Cedric Richmond — a leading voice on Capitol Hill for a major legislative overhaul that would address police brutality against people of color — backed his party’s efforts Wednesday to shut down debate on a GOP police reform bill. The bill — which Senate Democrats blocked in a procedural vote on […]
Coronavirus complicates Louisiana’s use of prison labor
As COVID-19 spread across Louisiana, the state’s prison system shut down educational programs, stopped in-person visits from family, eliminated face-to-face religious services and suspended meetings between inmates and attorneys. But thousands of inmates have continued to be sent to work even as those restrictions on the other parts of their lives were imposed. Louisiana uses […]