New Orleans DA Candidate Allowed Race-Based Jury Selection In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Keva Landrum violated the Constitution when, as a judge, she permitted nearly a dozen Black people to be struck from serving on a jury in a high-profile murder case. Jerry Iannelli
The Defund Movement Aims to Change the Policing and Prosecution of Domestic Violence Though domestic violence is often cited as a reason to maintain the carceral status quo, advocates say there are more humane—and effective—alternatives. Jessica Pishko
Jacklean Davis Was The First Black Woman To Serve As a Homicide Detective in New Orleans. Did A Now Disbarred Prosecutor Bring About Her Fall? In the 1990s, Davis was a policing superstar, hailed as the best crime solver the Crescent City had ever seen. But a dispute over a paid detail at a festival turned into a major federal case against her, brought by a prosecutor involved whose conduct in other cases was called ‘grotesque.’ Ethan Brown
Should a Prosecutor’s Immunity Cover Faking Documents to Lock Up Witnesses? A lawsuit alleges Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro’s office created bogus "subpoenas" to secure reluctant witnesses' cooperation—and even used them to jail crime victims. Jay Willis
Longtime Louisiana Prisoner Who Maintained Her Innocence Dies Less Than Two Years After Her Release The poor healthcare that Bobbie Jean Johnson received during her more than 40 years in prison contributed to her death, family members say. Roxanna Asgarian
Louisiana Prosecutors Push To Retain Nonunanimous Jury Verdicts In 2018, the state’s voters approved a constitutional amendment that requires unanimous jury verdicts in felony cases for crimes committed on or after Jan. 1, 2019. Now, the Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of the nonunanimity rule—with prosecutors arguing that the U.S. Constitution does not require unanimous jury verdicts in criminal cases. Joshua Vaughn
New Orleans Youth Crime: The Epidemic That Wasn’t In rhetoric reminiscent of the ‘superpredator‘ scare of the 1990s, the New Orleans District Attorney warned of ‘a brazen population of delinquent teens.‘ But advocates and crime analysts alike say the data doesn't support his fearmongering claims about kids and crime. Mike Hayes
New Orleans Police Appear to Use Surveillance to Initiate Investigations City officials say its vast network of cameras are simply a tool when responding to 911 calls and complaints of criminal activity. But several cases suggest the system serves an additional purpose. Mike Hayes
Notorious Jailhouse Informant Case Resurfaces as New Orleans D.A. Race Nears DA Leon Cannizzarro used jailhouse informant Ronnie Morgan to convict a man in the killing of five teenagers, but the case was overturned. Now, Morgan is petitioning for a prison transfer, reviving the murder case. Lauren Gill
Louisiana Bill Could Jail Defense Attorneys for Doing Their Jobs ‘The bill forces attorneys to choose between violating our ethical mandates or going to jail for following them.’ Kira Lerner
New Orleans’s Youth Jail Faces Overcrowding Crisis as D.A. Targets Kids The Orleans district attorney has said that violent youth are the city’s biggest crime problem. Kira Lerner
New Orleans Prosecutor Calls New Bail Fund ‘Extremely Disturbing’ Advocates noted that bail gives prosecutors leverage to get guilty pleas from people who can’t afford to buy their way out of jail. Raven Rakia
Is Orange County D.A. Candidate Sending Mixed Signals on Jail Phone Company’s Contract? Todd Spitzer blasted Global Tel Link for recording attorney-client phone calls, but his campaign won’t call on a PAC supporting his candidacy to return the company’s lobbyist’s donation. George Joseph
Louisiana Man Ordered Released From Jail After Waiting Almost Eight Years For Trial Case called an “embarrassment to criminal justice system.” Larry Hannan
