Katrina Courthouse Blog - News and Updates

MSN Money

Hundreds of prisoners in Louisiana may be released or left in limbo awaiting trial because there is no funding for prosecutions. Eddie Jordan, Orleans parish district-attorney, whose parish was among the hardest hit by Katrina, has been told his office will get no fourth-quarter funding from the city for operating expenses.

Mr Jordan's office is already struggling to cope with problems that include damaged and waterlogged evidence, missing records and witnesses, defendants who have jumped bond, and destroyed offices and courthouses.

Source: http://news.moneycentral.msn.com/provider/providerarticle.asp?feed=FT&Date=20051006&ID=5172346

Joseph Goldstein
The Daily Citizen

NEW ORLEANS -- The criminal courts returned to New Orleans Monday as two judges heard the cases of inmates being held at the temporary jail in the city's Amtrak and Greyhound station.

The 28 defendants present for their first court appearance were the most recent of more than 500 inmates who have been held in the hastily welded pens following their arrests in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Before this past weekend those jailed at the terminal were either released shortly after their arrest or transported to a state prison due to the absence of any functioning courts in New Orleans. Court was held Monday in a room on the second floor of the train and bus terminal.

Source: http://www.thedailycitizen.com/articles/2005/10/04/news/local_news/news02.txt

CHUCK CRUMBO
Lexington Herald Leader

NEW ORLEANS - (KRT) - When the Orleans Parish Prison was evacuated during Hurricane Katrina, the inmates wore colored armbands that indicated the nature of their offenses. But by the time they arrived at temporary holding facilities scattered throughout the state, some were missing their armbands. It didn't matter. The state corrections officers receiving the prisoners had no idea what the color codes meant.

The armbands are one example of how Hurricane Katrina and the mass evacuation of 8,500 inmates from prisons in three Louisiana parishes, or counties, threw the state's corrections and court systems into chaos from which they're only beginning to recover.

Source: http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/nation/12816822.htm

James Weingarten
TPMCafe.com

In letters to their Senators and Representatives, the Louisiana and Mississippi Bar Associations have urged quick congressional action to delay the upcoming changes in the bankruptcy law.

The problems with Act (both before and after Katrina) are well known to readers of this blog. As the Mississippi Bar states it: "within the great area affected by the storm assumptions underlying the passage of the Act no longer hold true."

Source: http://warrenreports.tpmcafe.com/story/2005/10/4/1396/72714

KATC3.com

OPELOUSAS, La. -- Judge James Genovese of Opelousas says he is optimistic the state 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals will be operational soon, although the court's building in Lake Charles was without electricity or phone service after Hurricane Rita hit.

"We were very fortunate not to have any serious damage," the judge said Friday. "There was some glass breakage and some water in the building."

Source: http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3926265

ALEX FRIEDRICH
DuluthNewsTribune.com

NEW ORLEANS - (KRT) - Whether Kriss Lane is convicted on charges that he killed a convention visitor two years ago might come down to one thing: whether floodwaters buried or destroyed the champagne bottle prosecutors say Lane used as a club. Whether Curtis Smith is found guilty of hitting a guy with a beer bottle outside a French Quarter bar last year might depend on something else: whether authorities can track down the scattered partiers they say were witnesses. And whether contractor Paul Speth is cleared of a theft charge involving his work on some houses may depend on whether they're standing.

It has been a world turned upside down for Orleans Parish District Court ever since Hurricane Katrina swept through. Prosecutors fear floodwaters submerged evidence, and the storm forced many witnesses, jurors and attorneys to leave the state. Prosecutors and defense lawyers, some of whom are Katrina victims themselves, are beginning to piece together their cases. But the outcomes could be much different from what they originally expected.

Source: http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/nation/12785404.htm

STEVEN WARD
2theadvocate.com

GONZALES -- Orleans Parish Civil District Court plans to open for business Monday in temporary quarters here, a court spokesman said Thursday. The court will be housed in three suites at 1056 E. Worthy Road behind the Ascension Parish Courthouse Annex, said Walt Pierce, the court's public information officer. The offices will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pierce said.

The offices will house employees and clerks of court of Orleans Parish Civil District Court, Orleans 1st City Court, Orleans 2nd City Court, Orleans Parish Civil Sheriff Paul Valteau and the constables who work with the 1st and 2nd City courts. Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans Aug. 29, shut down the operations of the courts. Pierce said the hurricane flooded the basement of the Civil District Court building at Poydras Street and Loyola Avenue in New Orleans.

Source: http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/093005/sub_orleans001.shtml

WSFA TV Montgomery

MONTGOMERY , Ala. - Hurricane victims in Alabama will now have along-term single toll-free number for help with disaster-related legal problems. The number, announced by Legal Services Alabama , is 1-877-393-2333.

The number will connect to a statewide call center network operated by Legal Services Alabama , with additional connections to legal services in otherstates affected by recent Gulf Coast hurricanes. The legal call center initially will operate from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.Monday through Friday , beginning Sept. 29. Hours are expected to expand as evacuees return to their homes and deal with long-term property issues.

Source: http://www.wsfa.com/Global/story.asp?S=3915327&nav=0RdE

NED RANDOLPH
2theadvocate.com

There is a growing concern among independent businesses that they will not be reimbursed for construction equipment extended on credit to customers affected by Hurricane Katrina.

In normal cases, suppliers have a 60-day period to file a lien against a property to secure payment. That time period since Katrina blew ashore on Aug. 29 is quickly waning, and courthouses in the affected parishes remain closed.

Source: http://2theadvocate.com/stories/092905/bus_biz001.shtml

MARY WILLIAMS WALSH and RIVA D. ATLAS
The Ledger

When Congress agreed this spring to tighten the bankruptcy laws and crack down on consumers who took on debt irresponsibly, no one had the victims of Hurricane Katrina in mind.

But four weeks after New Orleans flooded and tens of thousands of other residents of the Gulf Coast also lost their homes and livelihoods, a stricter new personal bankruptcy law scheduled to take effect on Oct. 17 is likely to deliver another blow to those dislocated by the storm.

Source: http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050927/ZNYT01/509270437/1001/BUSINESS

Suzanne Le Breton
Slidell Sentry-News

COVINGTON - Justice of the Peace Lisa King is anticipating the courts will be full in the coming months with people fighting over evictions and price gouging. "Unfortunately there is a small percentage of people trying to make money off of people," she said.

Kristen Posey said she has fallen victim to one of these people. Like many residents in St. Tammany Parish, Posey evacuated for Hurricane Katrina. Concerned about her apartment in Emerald Forest, she returned with her father Sept. 3.

Source: http://www.slidellsentry.com/articles/2005/09/26/news/news04.txt

2theadvocate.com

New Orleans - Tulane Law School faculty, alumni and friends have established a non-profit legal aid and disaster relief effort to facilitate the fair and prompt distribution of disaster relief to victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

The newly formed From the Lake to the River Foundation established the New Orleans Coalition for Legal Aid and Disaster Relief to serve as a clearinghouse for legal information for victims of Hurricane Katrina and will monitor the relief effort to ensure the prompt and fair distribution of federal, state, and private disaster relief to New Orleanians.

Source: http://2theadvocate.com/stories/092505/new_legal001.shtml

katc.com

NEW ORLEANS Orleans Parish District Attorney Eddie Jordan said today his office is laying off at least 54 percent of its "non-essential, non-legal staff members" because the city is facing a financial hardship in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

The layoffs do not include assistant district attorneys. A statement from Jordan's office says though the city is seeking financial assistance, it must downsize and advised that the D-A's do the same.

Source: http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3893919

Martha Bergmark and Fred Banks
The Clarion-Ledger

When catastrophe strikes, the legal profession stands ready to help. When catastrophe strikes the poor and disabled, lawyers turn into healers.

In the wake of the destruction brought by Hurricane Katrina, the provision of legal representation to those unable to hire lawyers is one of the finest examples of the power of goodness and healing. Countless seniors, children and other indigent or disabled survivors of Katrina's wrath will need a lawyer to see a doctor, secure safe housing and protect their ability to rebuild lives.

Source: http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050924/OPINION/509230323/1166

AccessNorthGa.com

When news broke Friday that Hurricane Rita's steady rains had toppled patched levees in New Orleans, Judge Louis Douglas banged his hands in disgust against the table in his temporary office in an Atlanta courthouse. Douglas knows how a rebuilding effort can be foiled by Mother Nature.

Nine months ago, he took the bench in New Orleans to begin an eight-year term as a juvenile judge, a role he's convinced is perfect for him. Now he's working in a donated office almost 500 miles away, helping piece together his battered city's court system while privately grappling with whether to return.

Source: http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=65470

Rachael L. Leslie
Navy Newsstand

GULFPORT, Miss. (NNS) -- Personnel working at the Navy Legal Services Office (NLSO) at the Construction Battalion Center (CBC) in Gulfport, Miss., have teamed up with Task Force Navy Family (TFNF) to provide assistance to Navy families affected by Hurricane Katrina.

TFNF was created in September by order of the Chief of Naval Operations, Adm. Mike Mullen, to ensure the Navy family is taken care of after such a disaster. Teams such as those working at NLSOs across the nation are already working to support the mission put forth by TFNF.

Source: http://www.news.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=20267

PENNY BROWN ROBERTS
2theadvocate.com

Ninety-four female inmates from southeast Louisiana evacuated to the Louisiana State Penitentiary during Hurricane Katrina are suing law-enforcement authorities, claiming they should be freed.

A lawsuit filed late Tuesday in New Orleans federal court contends the women -- evacuated from the Orleans and St. Bernard Parish prisons -- remain imprisoned beyond their scheduled release date or are nearing the end of their sentences.

Source: http://2theadvocate.com/stories/092205/new_inmates001.shtml

Bill Zlatos
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

The president of the American Bar Association urges lawyers from across the country to give free legal advice to victims of Hurricane Katrina. "We've never had a disaster like this," said Michael Greco, president of the 400,000-member organization based in Chicago. "Our response has to be big and bold, and it is. I don't know of another time when America's lawyers rallied to give free legal advice."

Greco, 62, of Wellesley, Mass., discussed the ABA's response to the disaster before he addressed an awards ceremony Wednesday honoring local attorneys for providing free services to county residents. The event at the Sen. John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center in the Strip District was sponsored by the Allegheny County Bar Foundation.

Source: http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/pittsburgh/s_376713.html

JOHN CHEVES AND ERIC FRAZIER
GrandForksHerald.com

BILOXI, Miss. - (KRT) - The Mississippi and Louisiana congressional delegations are crafting a massive hurricane relief package, to be filed as early as Friday, that could include a grace period from tough new federal bankruptcy rules.

The bankruptcy law that takes effect Oct. 17 will make it harder for some people to erase their debts. Hurricane survivors also will have to produce financial records that might have been lost, and set aside time to take financial-planning classes at their own expense, if they can find such classes in devastated areas.

Source: http://www.grandforks.com/mld/grandforks/news/nation/12706028.htm

Mike Wereschagin
PittsburghLive.com

Hurricanes don't bother with due process. During the frenzied abandonment of New Orleans three weeks ago, about 8,400 prisoners from Southern Louisiana jails were scattered among 39 of the state's jails and prisons. Murderers awaiting transfer to other lockups were bused out alongside folks who downed too much bourbon the night before and got tossed in the drunk tank.

Some had posted bail, but the paperwork didn't get through before the storm hit. Others finished their sentences, but haven't been released because court records have been under water for three weeks, said Elton Richey, a defense attorney in Shreveport, La., and officer in the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Source: http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/pittsburgh/s_376297.html