Thursday at noon CDT, Lens reporter Charles Maldonado will take questions about our ongoing investigation into fake subpoenas.
In April, The Lens reported that the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office delivered fake subpoenas to pressure witnesses to come in for questioning. The practice apparently went on for years.
Defense attorneys and legal experts said the notices were misleading, unethical and possibly illegal.
The day we told the DA’s office what our story would report, it announced the practice would stop.
Have you received one of these fake subpoenas? We want to talk to you. Email editor@thelensnola.org, or call or text 504-229-2346.
The Jefferson Parish DA’s office also sent notices falsely labeled subpoenas. On the North Shore, prosecutors sent notices that weren’t called subpoenas, but looked like official court notices.
Those agencies also said they’d stop immediately.
Join us at noon Thursday to discuss what we know about the practice and offer suggestions on where to direct our reporting.
In the meantime, read our stories so far:
- Orleans Parish prosecutors are using fake subpoenas to pressure witnesses to talk to them
- Jefferson Parish prosecutors used fake subpoenas similar to those in New Orleans
- Woman who got fake subpoena from Orleans DA says she was threatened with jail twice
- Will prosecutors who sent fake subpoenas face any consequences?
- DA can’t say how often fake subpoenas were used, and it’s too hard to look
- Orleans Parish DA sued by The Lens, ACLU and MacArthur Center over fake subpoenas
- Notices sent to witnesses on North Shore weren’t called subpoenas, but they looked real enough
- Defense attorney wants Orleans Parish DA to say if it used fake subpoenas in home invasion case
- New Orleans prosecutor used fake subpoena to seek arrest warrant for victim of alleged domestic violence
