Pubdate: Tue, 23 May 2006
Source: USA Today (US)
Section:  Page 1A
Copyright: 2006 USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Co. Inc
Contact:  http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/index.htm
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/466
Author: Laura Parker

NEW ORLEANS PLANS FIRST CRIMINAL TRIALS SINCE KATRINA

Defendants' rights violated, lawyers say New Orleans plans to hold 
its first criminal trial since Hurricane Katrina as soon as next 
week, the first step in solving a judicial crisis in which thousands 
of suspects have been jailed for months without trials.

Criminal District Court Chief Judge Calvin Johnson says courts will 
reopen in the downtown courthouse, which was flooded after the Aug. 
29 storm. He says 3,000 jury summonses have been mailed, and criminal 
trials could resume soon after Memorial Day weekend. It's unclear who 
will be tried or how they will be chosen.

The resumption of criminal trials would be a benchmark in New 
Orleans' recovery, but defense lawyers warn the effort may stall 
quickly. They say that Katrina ripped apart an already troubled 
judicial system and that it's unclear whether defendants can get fair trials.

Johnson's plan is "extraordinarily optimistic," says Pamela Metzger 
of the criminal law clinic at Tulane University. She says many of the 
6,000 defendants awaiting trial in New Orleans are poor and their 
right to have a court-appointed lawyer hasn't been met months after 
their arrest.

New Orleans' civil courts, which handle disputes between parties and 
do not rely on public defenders, have held a few trials without juries.

However, the criminal side of the court system has been in limbo. A 
recent Justice Department report said justice is "unavailable" for 
poor crime suspects in New Orleans. It said the public defender's 
office needs 70 lawyers and more than $8 million. State officials and 
the U.S. government are weighing plans to spend millions of dollars 
to restore New Orleans' judiciary.

It won't be easy. Thirty-one of the 39 public defenders have been 
laid off since Katrina. District Attorney Eddie Jordan and several 
defense lawyers say 2,100 of those awaiting trial are in jails, many 
without adequate legal representation.

Metzger and other lawyers have filed lawsuits demanding that jailed 
suspects be tried or released. Criminal District Court Judge Arthur 
Hunter has said thousands will have to be released if the state does 
not come up with money for public defenders.

Jordan says the vast majority of the defendants who need lawyers face 
drug charges, and about three dozen cases involve homicides.
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