forgotston.com

The media and others in New Orleans are viewing the $3.7 Million judgment against the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office as a bad thing. It’s not all bad.

The judgment was rendered against the office of District Attorney because a Federal jury found that District Attorney Eddie Jordan committed racial discrimination by a wholesale firing of the incumbent white employees of the office when he became the D.A. Nothing wrong with that result.

Now the question is who will pay the judgment. Apparently to pay the judgment would take the remainder of the budget of the Orleans District Attorney’s office. Of course, the reason the judgment has almost doubled since rendered is due to Jordan’s time-consuming and fruitless appeals.

According to a story in today’s Daily Monopoly:

“The disruption [if the D.A.’s office had to pay the judgment] would be so severe that it would virtually shut down the DA’s office and render it impossible (for it) to perform its functions,” said Val Solino, an executive first assistant to Jordan, in an affidavit filed at federal court this month. (emphasis mine).

The track record of the D.A.’s office is one that would make it hard to recognize if it was shut down. It’s not as if it is performing it functions now. So what’s the harm.

The solution

LA Constitution Article IV, Section 8 provides:

As necessary for the assertion or protection of any right or interest of the state, the attorney general shall have authority …upon the written request of a district attorney, to advise and assist in the prosecution of any criminal case; and … when authorized by the court which would have original jurisdiction and subject to judicial review, (a) to institute, prosecute, or intervene in any criminal action or proceeding, or (b) to supersede any attorney representing the state in any civil or criminal action.

If the Orleans Parish District Attorney is shut down, by its own fault, how hard will it be to get a judge, even in Orleans Parish, to authorize the Attorney General to take over the prosecution of criminal cases in Orleans Parish.

Charlie Foti is no longer in the running for reelection for Attorney General. Sending in his prosecutors will not only keep Foti busy until he goes out of office in Mid-January, but it may keep him from persecuting doctors and nurses.

It seems like a win-win to me.

C.B.

Uncategorized CB 8:00 am

New Orleans has now recorded at least its 185th murder of the year.

There were 3 murders in one location late last (Wednesday) night in eastern New Orleans and 1 murder a few hours later early this (Thursday) morning in Treme.

In a span of approximately 4 hours four people were killed in New Orleans. Apparently, the criminals were making up for being unable to work during the flooding from the rains on Monday.

It seems that the citizens of New Orleans have to choose between flooding or violent crime. Those responsible for protecting the public from both appear incapable of addressing either problem.

More as it happens. And it will.

C.B.

Uncategorized CB 8:03 am

We often hear that in a democracy, a majority rules. It should be more properly stated that in a democracy, a majority of those who choose to participate rule.

On Saturday, approximately 1.3 Million people went to the polls to determine who would guide Louisiana’s government for the next four years.

Assuming that the current population of our state is 4.3 Million (Adjusted by 200,000 to allow for the impact of the flooding of New Orleans by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.) then approximately 30% of the people in LA participated in the Democratic process.

Thus, in the case of our next governor, 16.5% of the population of LA voted to make Bobby Jindal our next governor.

The media and pundits refer to Jindal’s win as a “mandate.” It was not a “mandate” if one believes in democracy as a form of government. Even if it was, what was the mandate?

Jindal won convincingly. I look forward with an open-mind to learning what are his plans (and the implementation thereof) for taking our state from the bottom, not to the “Southern Average,” but to the top state in the country.

C.B.

Uncategorized CB 8:00 am