Louisiana Voice

Counting today, there are only three days remaining for me to badger you about LouisianaVoice‘s semi-annual fundraising drive which ends on Saturday.

I don’t know how fully cognizant readers are about how the events in the 26th Judicial District affect them, but trust me, it does. The manner in which potential jurors are eliminated from consideration is an affront to the very concept of justice in which this country is supposed to take such pride.

It does not matter what the charges are against an individual, our constitution guarantees a fair and unbiased trial of the facts but the suppression of potential jurors defies that very constutional guarantee.

And it is quite likely occurring in other judicial districts across the state and across the country, so yes, it certainly does affect you.

Moreover, the question of whether Ramos, the decision striking down split jury verdicts, should be retroactive, is simply absurd. How could it be fair for a person convicted by a split verdict (a 10-2 guilty verdict) on Monday to have his conviction thrown out but a person convicted by an identical vote a week before the Ramos decision should not get the same consideration? If split verdicts for felonies is unconstitutional this week, it should be equally wrong last week. That is the question that now sits before the Louisiana Supreme Court. (Louisiana, by the way, is one of only two states that still honored the split verdict, Oregon being the other one.)

That’s what LouisianaVoice does: it finds injustice, whether it be in the courts or the bureauracy, and we report it. That takes money for travel, documents, and legal costs to help convince recalcitrant bureaucrats to cooperate with public records requests.

To contributed by credit card, click on the yellow DONATE button to the right of this post. If you prefer, you may send a check to: Capital News Service, P.O. Box 922, Denham Springs, Louisiana 70727. Those contributing $100 or more will get a signed copy of my novel It’s All TheIRS, the story of a foolhardy man who decides to fight the IRS – with surprising results.

As always, thanks for hanging with us for the past 11 years.