Washington v. Louisiana Docket: 2019-KK-01792 Opinion Date: January 27, 2021 Judge: Per Curiam Areas of Law: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law Defendant Jamal Washington was indicted for racketeering; human trafficking; and conspiracy to commit human trafficking. With regard to racketeering, the indictment alleged that defendant, his codefendants, and other persons, known and unknown, engaged in conduct that furthered a criminal enterprise involved in narcotics distribution and prostitution. Defendant pleaded guilty to racketeering, and the State in exchange dismissed the remaining charges and agreed to forego recidivist sentence enhancement. The district court sentenced defendant in conformity with the plea agreement to serve eight years imprisonment at hard labor. The court of appeal affirmed. Thereafter, defendant sought clarification that the court had not designated the offense as a crime of violence. A minute entry indicated that the district court had designated the offense as a crime of violence. However, no such designation was evident in the sentencing transcript. The district court denied the motion. The court of appeal determined that racketeering was not a crime of violence because it was not enumerated as such in La. R.S. 14:2(B), and because the use (or attempted use) of physical force was not an element of racketeering, as that crime was defined by statute. Therefore, the court of appeal found that the crime was incorrectly designated as a crime of violence in the district court's minute entry. The Louisiana Supreme Court found defendant did not admit to human trafficking when he pleaded guilty to racketeering, and the State dismissed the charge of human trafficking. Defendant also did not admit that he personally performed any violent acts in the factual basis for his guilty plea. Accordingly, the Court affirmed the court of appeal, which reversed the district court’s ruling denying defendant’s motion to correct the sentencing minute entry to reflect that the offense was not designated as a crime of violence, and which remanded to the district court for correction of the minute entry. Read Opinion
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Louisiana Supreme Court Opinions Lousiana v. Cohen Docket: 2019-K-00949 Opinion Date: January 27, 2021 Judge: Per Curiam Areas of Law: Constitutional Law, Criminal Law Sixteen-year old Donasty Cohen was charged with second-degree murder for the death of her 27-day-old infant son. After trial, a jury found her guilty of manslaughter. The district court sentenced her to serve 17 years imprisonment at hard labor without parole eligibility. The court of appeal affirmed after deleting the restriction on eligibility for parole. On appeal to the Louisiana Supreme Court, defendant argued only that the district court erred in denying her challenge for cause of one prospective juror. In the course of reviewing the record, it became apparent that the verdict in this case was non-unanimous. The sealed jury polling slips contained in the record showed defendant was found guilty of manslaughter by vote of 11-1. The State conceded the verdict was not unanimous. The Court held defendant was entitled to a new trial. The appellate court's judgment was reversed, the conviction and sentence vacated, and the matter remanded fur further proceedings. Read Opinion DSNAP Approved for 6 Parishes Hit by Hurricane Zeta, including Lafourche and Terrebonne
www.houmatimes.com/news/dsnap-approved-for-6-parishes-hit-by-hurricane-zeta-including-lafourche-and-terrebonne/ Louisiana hemp growers affected by USDA’s final rule regulating production in the U.S.
www.klfy.com/louisiana/louisiana-hemp-growers- affected-by-usdas-final-rule-regulating-production-in-the-u-s/ United States v. Warren Docket: 19-10805 Opinion Date: January 22, 2021 Judge: Don R. Willett Areas of Law: Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit affirmed Defendant Martinez and Warren's convictions and sentences for multiple federal charges for their roles in a telemarketing timeshare-exit scam that bilked millions from owners eager to escape timeshares they could no longer afford. The court held that the evidence was sufficient to support Martinez's convictions for conspiracy (Count One), mail fraud (Counts Two through Six), and wire fraud (Counts Seven and Eight); the district court did not err or abuse its discretion by permitting the timeshare owners to testify about their conversations with telemarketers; the district court did not err by imposing consecutive six-month sentences under 18 U.S.C. 2326(1); the district court did not clearly err in determining that Warren was a "manager or supervisor" and applying a three-level increase to his offense level under USSG 3B1.1(b); and Martinez's contention that the district court's restitution order violated his Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial is foreclosed by circuit precedent. Read Opinion Biden issues 60-day moratorium on oil and gas drilling permits in Gulf of Mexico www.houmatimes.com/news/president-biden-issues-60-day-moratorium-on-oil-and-gas-drilling-permits-in-gulf-of-mexico/ Stringer v. Town of Jonesboro Docket: 20-30192 Opinion Date: January 19, 2021 Judge: Duncan Areas of Law: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Environmental Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use Since 2011, Jonesboro’s wastewater system has spewed sewage onto Stringer’s property and into her home during heavy rains. Stringer repeatedly complained to the town and its mayor, then brought a “citizen suit” under the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1365, with constitutional claims under 42 U.S.C. 1983 for the uncompensated taking of her property and the mayor’s retaliation. Stringer ran against the mayor in 2014 and claims he retaliated by ignoring her pleas, getting the town to sue her frivolously, and refusing to provide sandbags. The Louisiana Departments of Health (LDOH) and Environmental Quality (LDEQ) have long known about the problems. LDEQ sent the town warning letters and issued compliance orders about unauthorized discharges, including those afflicting Stringer. LDOH issued a compliance order about the discharges on Stringer’s property, imposed mandatory ameliorative measures, and assessed a daily fine. The district court dismissed, finding that the CWA prohibits such suits when a state is addressing the problem through “comparable” state law and finding her section 1983 claims untimely under Louisiana’s one-year prescriptive period. The Fifth Circuit affirmed as to the section 1983 claims. Stringer was long aware of the underlying facts and failed to sue within a year. The Fifth Circuit reversed in part. The enforcement action to which the court pointed—the state health department’s enforcement of the sanitary code—is not “comparable” to the CWA under circuit precedent. Read Opinion THE LOUISIANA SUPREME COURT ISSUES A NEW ORDER IMPOSING MORATORIUM ON JURY TRIALS UNTIL MARCH 1, 2021 - PRESS RELEASE www.lasc.org/Press_Release?p=2021-02 Moratorium on Jury Trials in Terrebonne, Lafourche, Louisiana The Louisiana Supreme Court, citing public health concerns surrounding COVID-19, has canceled the start of Louisiana jury trials until March 1, 2021. The Order of the Court reads, "No civil or criminal jury trial shall commence in any Louisiana state court before March 1, 2021." www.lasc.org/COVID19/Orders/2021-01-11_LASC_ORDER.pdf US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions United States v. Parkerson Docket: 19-10780 Opinion Date: January 12, 2021 Judge: E. Grady Jolly Areas of Law: Criminal Law The Fifth Circuit affirmed defendant's 120-month sentence for failing to register as a sex offender, holding that defendant's sentence is both procedurally and substantively reasonable. In regard to defendant's claims of procedural error, the court held that the district court did not err in considering a contested account contained in the PSR that was drawn from a police report, because this evidence bears sufficient indicia of reliability. Furthermore, the district court did not reversibly err by considering the opinion of a TDCJ psychologist that defendant's likelihood of reoffending was high. The court gave deference to the district court's application of the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors and concluded that defendant's sentence was not substantively unreasonable in light of his history of sexual violence and considerations for public safety. Read Opinion Lafourche native sworn in as the 26th Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court
www.houmatimes.com/news/lafourche-native-sworn-in-as-the-26th-chief-justice-of-the-louisiana-supreme-court/ United States v. Morton Docket: 19-10842 Opinion Date: January 5, 2021 Judge: E. Grady Jolly Areas of Law: Criminal Law The good faith exception to the Fourth Amendment's exclusionary rule does not allow officers to search the photographs on a defendant's cellphones for evidence of drug possession, when the affidavits supporting the search warrants were based only on evidence of personal drug possession and an officer's generalized allegations about the behavior of drug traffickers—not drug users. The Fifth Circuit held that the officers' affidavits do not provide probable cause to search the photographs stored on the defendant’s cellphones. Furthermore, the good faith exception does not apply because the officers' reliance on the defective warrants was objectively unreasonable. While respecting the "great deference" that the presiding judge is owed, the court further held that he did not have a substantial basis for his probable cause determination with regard to the photographs. Therefore, the digital images found in defendant's cellphones are inadmissible and the court vacated his conviction, remanding for further proceedings. Read Opinion |
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