Public defenders complained that they couldn’t pay the bills because DAs were offering drivers a deal: Write us a check and we’ll drop the charge.
Right now, it’s staffed just 12 hours a day. For the first month, it was closed on the weekends.
Staffers were told to use a notice that looked like a real court document, with “SUBPOENA” printed at the top.
Who says cops have to be hostile to communities they police?
Defense attorneys are seeking a new trial because their client was convicted after the victim received a fake subpoena.
Judge Byron Williams was a prosecutor when the DA’s office used an earlier version of its fake subpoenas.
Some have asked how Orleans Parish prosecutors used fake subpoenas for so long with no repercussions. We found several instances in which lawyers protested their use in court, but nothing happened. The practice stopped only when it was made public.
Criminal District Judge Karen Herman also issued arrest warrants to two women after they disobeyed fake subpoenas.
Former DA Harry Connick said there's a big difference between the notices his prosecutors used and the ones sent under the current DA.
But Cannizzaro’s office will continue to search case files for the documents, a spokesman said.