When you're out of arguments… be proud of wasting money! 🤦‍♂️ #lalege #nolasky

This late-March news report covers the new investigation into two Orleans Parish Juvenile Court judges and how their failures led to multiple deaths. Thankfully, the LA Supreme Court finally ordered a legitimate investigation. Not a peep from city leaders. #lalege #lagov #nolasky

"Same old problem... In January, we had a shooting. Someone was shot 7 times... [Shooter was] a juvenile whose ankle monitor died 3 days before..." Jill Dennis says Freddie King’s Criminal Justice Committee has been ignoring contact attempts. @nolacitycouncil.bsky.social #lalege #lagov #nolasky

"Nashville is over 700,000 people... New Orleans is 362,000 people. Nashville has *one* juvenile court judge elected. She appoints commissioners on her behalf... That's *one* point of contact to the public. That's *one* point of accountability to the public." #lalege #lagov #nolasky

Excuse me? What does any of that have to do with wanting an appropriate number of judges on the bench whose salaries we fund?

"To put this all in perspective for you... New Orleans has, for instance, 12 appellate court judges on the Fourth Circuit. The entire state of Georgia — the entire state — has 15." This is ridiculous. No more "studies." Rightsize the courts now. #lalege #lagov #nolasky

If studies that led to the 2013 legislation said *only one* juvenile court judge was needed all those years ago when the population was greater, why are we still holding on to four judges now? We don't need another study, we need to rightsize our courts. #lalege #lagov #nolasky

New Orleans leaders push back as state court overhaul bills advance New Orleans officials say lawmakers are relying on flawed data as bills advance at the Capitol to eliminate judgeships and consolidate major parts of the city’s court system.

👏 SB217 advanced out of Senate Judiciary A. #lalege #nolasky

It’s not about preferring a top down system, it’s just recognizing and respecting that the state has the ability and responsibility to make these changes. Like many, I’m tired of bloat and brokenness in Orleans government operations. Our courts are one of them.

Elections that take place for these positions are downstream from how the state chooses to structure the court system. The state dictates which positions are needed. Not the people who get elected to them. They’re there to serve so long as the position exists as determined by the state.

This is also democracy, just from the state level. We elect our representatives and senators who propose this legislation.

It’s a waste of money and time for LA to continue to perpetuate & fund this bloated, broken system in Orleans even one more day. After 20 years of waiting and Orleans courts doing little to nothing in the way of imposing accountability and maximizing efficiency, hopefully, the time has finally come.

There’s always someone who is going to be displaced when such large, overdue changes finally happen. Not concerned about that. More concerned with finally, after 20 years, getting our broken structure reformed and in line with the rest of the state.

Because Orleans Parish is, yet again, an outlier in how we operate. And, yet again, what we’re doing is not working and wastes money. Every other parish in the state has a unified court system. Including parishes larger than ours. No compelling reason for us to have a totally different system.

No. I’m a big fan of reasonable guardrails. We clearly don’t have enough in Orleans Parish — evidenced by the breadth and depth of constant local government failure in New Orleans. Including patterns of deadly failure.

"Get a bunch of victims together and you will find our stories are linked. It's not just a one-off... not just that a judge made a bad decision... These are patterns... We're trying to stop the pattern." Elisabeth Hansard in support of judicial accountability bill SB123. #lalege #nolasky

Louisiana lawmakers advance bill allowing legislative removal of ‘incompetent’ state judges State Senate passed a bill Monday that would empower lawmakers to remove elected judges.

Louisiana lawmakers advance bill allowing legislative removal of ‘incompetent’ state judges

👏 The proposed judicial accountability constitutional amendment (SB123) passed the Senate 27-11 and moves on to the House. Great work, Senator Jay Morris! Shame on all 4 Orleans senators (Barthelemy, Carter, Duplessis, and Harris) for voting against it. #lalege #nolasky

"There are some judges who might be out of a job by January 1st. But it's a look-at that New Orleans has been needing to have because it has really been a top-heavy judicial system for a long time." #lalege push to reform Orleans Parish courts was a topic on “Informed Sources.” #nolasky

👏 “It's not fair for you and me to carry insurance and these other people to not carry insurance and have a 'catch-and-release' kind of attitude." Right on, Kenner. NOPD, what is the plan here? We need to impound uninsured drivers’ vehicles, too. Get these lawbreakers off the roads. #nolasky

“There is only one parish in our state that has two court systems. There is only one parish in our state that has two clerk systems... We are in the budget crisis of a lifetime." Fox 8 reported on HB911 which aims to reform Orleans courts. It advanced to the House floor. #lalege #nolasky

Rep. Dixon McMakin discussed his HB911 bill to reform Orleans Parish court system. #lalege #nolasky legis.la.gov/legis/BillIn...

Bringing Orleans Parish courts in line with the rest of the state, consolidating, streamlining, potentially getting rid of problem judges... HB911 sounds promising. 👏 #lalege #lagov #nolasky

Now that long-awaited paths to hold problematic DAs and judges accountable may materialize, pay attention to how New Orleans politicians respond. Do they recognize the deadly concerns and welcome real fixes? Or is their first inclination to throw cold water on it? #lalege #lagov #nolasky

👏 "You can arrest all the people you want, but if they just let them out... crime will go back up... Additional oversight over the judiciary and the district attorneys... The good ones [DAs], you don't have to worry." #lagov #lalege #nolasky

Recidivism isn’t the only problem. It’s that sentences and actual time served have to be substantial enough for punishment and to deter other would-be criminals. His sentence was already short at one year, then to cut that down to just 4 months? That’s a joke. Undermines the system’s credibility.

they faced no real consequences the first time and learned can wreak more havoc. New Orleans drowns in this cycle of criminality and is very prone to a revolving door justice system because leaders here so often are not really interested in maintaining law & order. It’s politically uncomfortable.

Our systems are terrible at these kinds of nuances. And I certainly have little faith that New Orleans leaders will even reliably and appropriately prosecute and sentence criminals on the first go around, let alone after they’re given a crazy short sentence, then just commit more crimes because

If you think prison sentences should be shorter, advocate for shorter sentences in state statute. I expect actual prison time to closely resemble what is in the law. Not to be able to lop off 75% of a sentence. 15% reduction earned through “good time” is fair and reflects truth in sentencing.

Prisoners can still get out early, they just can’t wipe away a whopping 75% of their sentences with “good time.” That’s absurd, Victims of these crimes and the public at large should be able to expect truth in sentencing.