Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman partially will follow through Tuesday morning on his threat to pull some security from the Criminal District Court building unless the city pays him an extra $500,000.
Author Archives: Matt Davis
Posted inCriminal Justice, Land Use
Temporary beds will expand jail population after all
Sheriff Marlin Gusman said Tuesday that his 400 new temporary jail beds will add to the total number of inmates in his custody, despite what he told The Lens and Fox8 News last month.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Gusman: I’ve always advocated for smaller jail
Sheriff Marlin Gusman committed to build a smaller jail complex today if data analysis by Mayor Mitch Landrieu’s new working group supports one.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Initial jail plan envisioned 8,000 inmates by 2020
Despite publicly committing to a “smaller, safer jail” in recent weeks, Sheriff Marlin Gusman sent architects a plan calling for 8,000 beds in his complex by 2020.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Sheriff ordered to pay $650,000 to tourists who were wrongly imprisoned
A jury has awarded $649,300 to two Ohio men who spent almost six weeks in custody after Katrina, despite never being charged with a crime.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Sheriff: Not my job to release uncharged Katrina inmates
Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman told a jury today that he was not to blame for failing to release uncharged inmates from his jails during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Instead, the sheriff argued that it was up to Municipal Court judges to order the release of his inmates, and nobody ever told him to […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Never-charged inmates describe “putrid” Katrina jail
Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman appeared in U.S. District Court today to defend his office against a civil-rights lawsuit by two Ohio men who spent weeks in custody following Hurricane Katrina, despite never being charged with a crime. The men were passing through New Orleans for a night on a road trip, but they ended […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Once again, sheriff tells city to pay up or lose security
10.11.10 Story updated at end with mayor’s comment. Original post: Sheriff Marlin Gusman has threatened to cut court hours and pull security services from the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court unless the city pays him an extra $500,000 by Oct. 25. Gusman took his stand in letter Wednesday to Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Without it, he […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Committee to reconsider downgrading some crimes
The City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee today delayed a vote on downgrading certain misdemeanors to municipal court offenses because of concerns expressed by District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro. The group also discussed several other initiatives aimed at reducing the amount of jail and court time used for minor offenses. Addressing the City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Government & Politics
Council to consider alternatives to jailing municipal defendants
The New Orleans City Council’s Criminal Justice Committee has provided public notice of its next meeting, apparently having re-read the state’s open-meetings law. The public was not invited to the last meeting of the group, where key jail issues were discussed. But this week, the meeting and an agenda are posted clearly on the city’s […]