Orleans Parish jail consent decree

Monday's hearing was supposed to be the first step to determine who would pay for jail reforms.

By Charles Maldonado and Sara Rahman June 10, 2013 1 comment

Now that a judge has ruled that jail conditions are unconstitutional, the question is how to pay for it.

By Charles Maldonado June 7, 2013

Gusman says he signed the consent decree after the city refused his 2013 request for an extra $15 million.

By Tom Gogola April 4, 2013

Deputy mayor and judge clash over whether the city was included in consent decree negotiations.

By Tom Gogola April 3, 2013 1 comment

Jail security is a study in "total dysfunction," testified expert witness Manuel Romero.

By Tom Gogola April 2, 2013 4 comments

The feds and plaintiffs' attorneys seek to bring the Orleans prison complex into compliance with the U.S. Constitution. File photo

On Wednesday, testimony concerned the city's involvement in the negotiations over the consent decree and conditions in the mental health unit. Sheriff Marlin Gusman will testify Thursday morning.

By Tom Gogola April 1, 2013 5 comments

Gusman disputes $22 million-a-year for five years, cited by mayor.

By Tom Gogola March 28, 2013

Mayor Landrieu will paint a grim picture of financial impacts if city is forced to cover costs of the federal consent decree.

By Tom Gogola March 27, 2013 1 comment

The U.S. Department of Justice today released a much-anticipated, proposed consent decree to settle a lawsuit with the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office over unconstitutional jail conditions identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Department of Justice. The civil rights group sued Sheriff Marlin Gusman in April over practices and conditions at the jail.

By Tom Gogola December 11, 2012 3 comments

Faced with a so far intractable, $14 million divide between Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s administration and Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman, U.S. Judge Lance Africk today ordered that two trials be held to determine, first, whether conditions at Orleans Parish jail are unconstitutional – and, if so, then who should pay to bring them into compliance. The development is a blow to those who thought the troubled parish jail was going to be quickly upgraded under the terms of a federally supervised consent decree.

By Tom Gogola November 27, 2012 4 comments