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New Orleans police miffed that Travis Boys’ defense, DA seek review of jury selection

Boys' attorneys, including MJC's Emily Washington and Hannah Lommers-Johnson, assert that prosecutors improperly weeded out Black prospective jurors: New Orleans is 60% Black, the jury pool was 55% Black and the jury was ultimately only 42% Black.

NOLA

DA’s office asks state appeals court to reverse ruling in fake subpoena records case

“We were surprised that counsel for District Attorney Jason Williams defended the actions of prior District Attorney Cannizzaro who withheld these subpoena records for years in violation of the Public Records Act,” said MJC's Hannah Lommers-Johnson.

The Lens

Closing arguments made in hearing over new jail facility

“Currently, there is not sufficient space in OJC even for the limited programming being provided,” MJC's Emily Washington said.

Lens NOLA

New Orleans prosecutor faces $50,000 penalty in records case

"The District Attorney used false pretenses to compel witnesses to come to his office, sought to jail those who did not appear, and tried to cover up this odious practice by refusing to comply with the Public Records Law,” said MJC's Jim Craig.

AP News

New Orleans DA hit with $50k penalty for failing to provide fake subpoenas under records request

"We hope the Court’s judgment of over $50,000 in penalties will deter the next district attorney from attempting to evade judicial scrutiny of the office’s subpoena requests and public scrutiny of its practices,” said MJC's Jim Craig.

NOLA.com

Judge orders Cannizzaro to pay more than $50K for ‘arbitrary and capricious’ refusal to hand over subpoena records

"If the District Attorney had responded truthfully and completely to Emily Washington’s May 2015 public records request, the people of Orleans Parish would have discovered the use of these improper subpoenas two years before they were exposed by journalists," MJC's Hannah Lommers-Johnson said.

Lens NOLA

Judge rules D.A. Cannizzaro must personally pay over $51K in penalties for his capricious failure to produce public records

NEW ORLEANS – Judge Ethel Julien of the Civil District Court for Orleans Parish has entered judgment against District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro finding him liable for the arbitrary and capricious failure to produce public records related to the use of Article 66 subpoenas. The ruling was issued on July 27 in a public records lawsuit...

DOJ, Sheriff Gusman, and civil rights lawyers all oppose city’s request to stop work on Phase III of New Orleans jail

“The reality is that people with serious mental health needs are locked up in our city’s jail right now, and will be for the foreseeable future,” MJC's Emily Washington said. “So long as that is true, the City is responsible for ensuring that these people receive the constitutional care to which they are entitled.”

The Lens

In court filing, jail official blasts city’s request to halt work on new mental health unit

MJC's Emily Washington, who represent the jail inmates in the consent decree litigation, said in an email that the city’s request showed “a disturbing disregard for ongoing harm to people currently in its jail as a result of long-acknowledged and structural barriers to providing constitutional medical and mental health care.”

The Louisiana Weekly

New Orleans asks court to ‘indefinitely suspend’ jail expansion plan

"A swift and effective means of providing constitutional care must be prioritized. Given this administration’s notable absence from the ongoing efforts to reform conditions at the facility, the City cannot support its broad declarations of compliance," MJC's Emily Washington said.

nola.com