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Louisiana Supreme Court posts attorney disciplinary action on its web page: does it do the same for judges? Not so much

July 25, 2018 by tomaswell

The Louisiana Supreme court maintains an attractive WEB PAGE that provides all sorts of information. Among other things, there are these handy features:

BIOGRAPHIES of JUSTICES;

BAR EXAM RESULTS;

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT the COURT;

POLICY for MEDIA;

There’s even a link to the ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY BOARD, the board that hears complaints about attorneys’ professional and private practices and metes out punishment ranging from required counseling to disbarment.

That can be a good thing in case you’re looking for an attorney to represent you. You wouldn’t want to hire legal counsel who has a nasty habit of showing up drunk in court or who doesn’t ever get around to dispensing monetary awards to clients or worse, someone who neglects a case until it prescribes.

And the court’s DECISION and RULES link can be especially brutal. It lists each individual case and goes into minute detail in laying out every charge against an attorney, no matter how personal, and then announces to the world what the Supreme Court deems to be an appropriate punishment.

Woe unto any attorney who gets caught DRIVING UNDER the INFLUENCE or who forgets to PAY HIS TAXES.

Of course, the same goes for judges found guilty of judicial misconduct, right?

Well, to borrow a phrase from an old Hertz car rental commercial: not exactly.

There is a JUDICIARY COMMISSION and it does investigate and resolve complaints against judges—or so it says.

There’s even a handy-dandy JUDICIAL COMPLAINT FORM for anyone with a beef against a judge.

But try as you might, there doesn’t seem to be a link that lists actual complaints and actions taken against judges by the Judiciary Commission. An oversight, we were sure.

So, we placed a call to the Supreme Court. Surely, there was someone there who could direct us to the proper link so that we might know the status of say, one JEFF PERILLOUX, Judge of the 40th Judicial District in St. John the Baptist Parish.

Perilloux, 51, was suspended by the State Supreme Court following his indictment on charges he sexually assaulted three teenaged girls, friends of his daughter, while on a family vacation in Florida.

This is the same Judge Perilloux who, while a parish prosecutor in 2010, was arrested for DWI. In that incident, he threatened a State Trooper, falling back on the time-honored “Do you know who I am?” ploy, advising the trooper that, “I am the parish attorney. I’m not some lowlife.” Good to know, sir. Here’s your ticket.

Then there are the two judges from IBERVILLE PARISH who were suspended in 2016.

And who can forget the judges caught up in the OPERATION WRINKLED ROBE federal investigation?

Well, apparently, the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Judiciary Commission has no problem forgetting those cases. Or at least ignoring them. Try finding any mention of those on the Supreme Court’s information-laden web page.

So, we made a call to the Supreme Court.

But, alas, we encountered the old familiar stone wall when we inquired into the status of investigations into judicial misconduct. The person to whom we spoke did offer to direct us to the judicial complaint form so we had to explain a second time that we did not wish to file a complaint but instead, wanted to find information about action taken against wayward judges.

“We don’t release that information,” we were told. “The only way that gets publicized is if the media finds out about it.”

“But, but, but, you list attorney disciplinary action…It seems the public has as much right to know about judicial discipline as about attorney discipline—maybe even more of a right.”

“We don’t release information on judges.”

Here is the relevant rule applicable to records:

Rule XXIII, Section 23(a) of the Rules of this Court be and is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 23.

(a) All documents filed with, and evidence and proceedings before the judiciary commission are confidential. The commission may provide documents, evidence and information from proceedings to the Louisiana Attorney Disciplinary Board in appropriate cases when approved by this court. In such cases, the confidentiality provisions of La. S. Ct. Rule XIX, Section 16A shall be maintained. The record filed by the commission with this court and proceedings before this court are not confidential.

In the event a judge who has received notice of an anticipated judiciary commission filing in accordance with Rule XV of the rules of the judiciary commission, moves in advance of the filing to place any or all of the anticipated judiciary commission filing under seal, the judiciary commission shall file under seal its recommendations, findings of fact and conclusions of law, the transcript of the proceedings, and exhibits. The filing shall remain under seal until such time as the court has acted upon the judge’s motion.

Which, I guess, is just another way of saying, “We take care of our own.”

Posted in Commissions, Corruption, Courts, Ethics, Judges, Media | 3 Comments »

Keep your eye on Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District race: things could get interesting in race against Higgins

July 21, 2018 by tomaswell

Facing discipline that included recommendations of demotion, reassignment, removal from the SWAT team and a 160-hour suspension without pay, he RESIGNED from the Opelousas Police Department.

When he next popped up, he was working as a public information officer for the St. Landry Sheriff’s Office where he tried to transform his image into that of some sort of John Wayne-George Patton clone.

But that went south as well when it was learned that his salary was being garnished by the FBI because he had paid NO FEDERAL INCOME TAXES for several years and that he was about $100,000 behind in his CHILD SUPPORT payments.

So, it was only natural that Clay Higgins would benefit from the 2016 Trump wave that would sweep him INTO OFFICE as U.S. Representative from Louisiana’s Third Congressional District.

During the 2016 campaign, he was taped by his ex-wife in a TELEPHONE CONVERSATION in which he said, “I’m just learning really about campaign laws…but there’s going to be a lot of money floating around.”

Higgins has established himself in the same mold as state and federal offices-holders Leander Perez, John Rarick, and David Duke in the two short years he has served in Congress.

Mildred “Mimi” Methvin wants to alter the image of the 3rd Congressional District to reflect a more rational approach to addressing the district’s problems at what she calls a “pivotal moment” for the district, state and the country.

Former U.S. Magistrate Judge Mimi Methvin, right, discusses her candidacy for U.S. Representative from the 3rd Congressional District with Ellen Torgrimson, New Orleans, of the League of Women Voters.

She is one of six challengers to Higgins—three other Democrats (one of whom just switched from Republican a few weeks ago), a Libertarian, and a Republican. If qualifications and past performance are any kind of barometer, she would be the hands-down selection as the candidate with the best chance of unseating the enigmatic Higgins.

Mildred “Mimi” Methvin, left, formally qualifies to run for U.S. Representative from Louisiana’s 3rd Congressional District last Wednesday. Looking on is Meg Casper of the Louisiana Secretary of State’s office.

Methvin has worked as a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s office and served 26 years as a U.S. magistrate judge. Magistrate judges are selected on the basis of merit and she was vetted for each of her three terms. In that position, she mediated several complex litigation cases and in 2009, she returned to private practice, having just won a $1.2 million award for a Rapides Parish teacher.

“Our Constitution is a moral covenant,” she says. “The question that must be addressed is this: Does the voice of the average American still count or is the voice of corporate America the only voice heard?

“The people of the 3rd District need to be independent, not bought by the special interests,” she said.

To that end, unlike Higgins, she has eschewed PAC contributions while Higgins has accepted nearly a quarter-of-a-million dollars in PAC money thus far, including contributions from political action committees representing big oil, utilities, defense contractors, health care companies, insurance companies, chemical companies, the NRA (through Russian operatives perhaps?), and even an outfit called the “Support to Ensure Victory Everywhere PAC.”

Methvin listed health care, coastal restoration, and income equality as issues that are important to the district. She was harshly critical of what she described as the transfer of wealth to corporations and of recent attacks by the Trump administration on NATO—and of Higgins’ voting record in Congress.

“Congressman Higgins has turned his back on promises he made as a candidate. Ninety thousand of his constituents have lost their health care while he has put dollars in the pockets of the rich. He is in lock step with the corporations.”

She accused Higgins of “incontrovertible fealty to party loyalty” over the interests of his constituents.

Having once presided over a major case in which a sheriff’s department was held liable for beating an innocent suspect with a metal baseball bat, Methvin definitely has the chops to be tough while standing up for the interests of the citizens of the district.

Higgins’ unwavering devotion to Donald Trump notwithstanding, this could be the most interesting race of all six congressional districts.

 

Posted in Campaign Contributions, Congress, Courts, Elections, House, Judges, Politicians | 18 Comments »

Where do you go with a juvenile rape case when accused’s father is political supporter of AG Landry and DA Duhé?

July 20, 2018 by tomaswell

Attorney General Jeff Landry, that staunch opponent of all things indecent and relentless publicity hound, just doesn’t seem to have much of a stomach for prosecuting rape cases.

Remember the jailhouse rape of that 17-year-old girl in Union Parish a couple of years ago? Because the jail is run by a consortium of public officials that included the local district attorney, the case was turned over to Landry’s office for prosecution.

Nothing came of it. After two years of “investigation,” no indictment, even though someone (we don’t know who, exactly) allowed a convicted rapist into her cell where she was assaulted not once, but twice. The criminal part of the case may be over, but the civil lawsuit against the parish remains active.

And now an even more repulsive rape case has landed in Landry’s lap and it’s going to be interesting to see how his office handles this one. The accused, after all, is the son of a Landry supporter who also just happens to be a campaign contributor to the local district attorney.

And that local district attorney is none other than Bo Duhé over in the 16th Judicial District that includes Iberia, St. Martin and St. Mary parishes.

Back in November 2015, it was learned that one Taylor Richard may have sexually assaulted the 3- and 5-year-old daughters of his 34-year-old girlfriend. He was finally arrested and charged in April 2016.

Renee Louivere, who had previously worked as an assistant district attorney but who was by then in private practice, enrolled as Taylor Richard’s attorney. Shortly after then, she returned to the district attorney’s office where she is currently employed in the DA’s St. Martinville office.

Obviously, her connections to Richard created a conflict of interest for Duhé, so he punted the matter to Landry’s office in Baton Rouge.

But then there is also the matter of James Richard, Taylor Richard’s father who (a) contributed $2600 to Duhé’s campaign in 2014 and 2015 through his company, Angel Rentals, Inc., and who (b) posted several pro-Landry messages on Facebook, along with photos of cookouts for Landry’s campaign. One unconfirmed report said that three weeks after Landry got the Taylor Richard case, James Richard worked on Landry’s campaign.

 

 

 

Moreover, James Richard is said to have attended school with Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal’ son which, of course, would not be unusual for a small town like New Iberia. Still, it would seem to complete the Ackal-Duhé-Richard connection rather conveniently.

Taylor Richard’s trial, meanwhile, has been continued on five different occasions. The most recent, scheduled for June, has been rescheduled for September.

In the meantime, efforts have been made on Taylor Richard’s behalf to plea bargain the matter down to counseling—for sexual assault of two toddlers.

LouisianaVoice made a public records request of Landry’s office on July 9 as to the status of the case. We received the following response that same date:

“Our office is in the process of determining what, if any, records are subject to this request and, if so, whether any privileges or exemptions apply. This may take some time. You will be notified within 30 days whether records have been located that are responsive and approximately when they will be ready for review.”

Thirty days? Really?

Why don’t you try matching Landry’s efficiency in ginning out self-serving press releases?

Posted in Attorney General, Corruption, Courts, Crime, Ethics | 3 Comments »

Nothing to see here, folks; just our then-guv with accused spy Maria Butina (discussing his pending presidential bid?)

July 18, 2018 by tomaswell

Apparently, this was on her Facebook page.

That appears to be the Russian spelling of her name

to the top right of this 2014 photo, taken at an NRA convention.

(Full disclosure: Butina approached Jindal to ask him to pose for a photo. He did not know her and had never met her, though he was informed she was Russian and supported the NRA which apparently had no problem with her support.)

 

Posted in Politics | 18 Comments »

Hell in Helsinki: Trump lives down to expectations: Commie-fighting Republicans in major quandary over what to do now

July 17, 2018 by tomaswell

If you think for one nano-second that I’m going to gloat, you’re dead wrong.

What we witnessed in Helsinki yesterday is nothing for anyone to gloat over—unless your name is Putin. Yesterday, a day when an American president turned his back on his own country in a shameless display of deference to a tyrant, a murderer, and an enemy of this country, was a day that should have infuriated all true Americans.

On the other hand, for those of us who have been subjected to names like libtards, Clintonites, Obamaites, bleeding hearts, socialists, and worse, I have to admit watching the Trump train wreck in the last few weeks has provided a measure of, if not comfort, at least redemption.

So, allow me just a moment of self-indulgence:

If being a “libtard” means that I have an aversion to locking innocent children in cages, then libtard it is.

I’m all for law and order but if criticism of over-zealous cops who get their kicks tasing and beating handcuffed prisoners (see Iberia Parish) and shooting unarmed citizens makes me a bleeding heart, then so be it. There has to be a balance between protecting the public and running roughshod over people’s rights. My grandfather had a simple rule: “Never take a man’s dignity from him.”

If being more concerned for our environment than I am for corporate profits makes me an anarchist, then you and I have vastly different ideas of what anarchy is.

If my wanting to see everyone have access to decent medical care makes me a socialist, it’s a label I accept. After all, the biggest socialist of them all was a man named Jesus. He championed this radical philosophy of love for our fellow man.

I never cared for Hillary Clinton, but yes, I voted for her because I could not stomach the idea of voting for Trump. I didn’t want her as president, but I absolutely feared Trump. I split my vote on Obama, going for McCain the first time around and for Obama the second time. If those votes make me something akin to a scumbag in your eyes, then I guess that’s the way it has to be.

I reiterate that even for those of us who have consistently warned that this man Trump is an out-of-control lunatic, a dangerous commodity, whose attacks on the press and his persecution of certain ethnic groups is reminiscent of other dictators of the 20th century are not funny but portentous, it’s not fun being right. In fact, it’s downright frightening when you consider the prospects for what still may lie in store for the rest of his term.

Kim Jong-un took Trump for the fool he is and that “de-nuclearization agreement” turned out to be nothing of the sort. His triumphant boast that North Korea is “no longer a nuclear threat” ranks right up there with “Mission accomplished,” and “You’re doing a heckuva job, Brownie.”

Trump managed to insult Canada and the members of the G-7 summit for no good reason that I can see. He then infuriated the European Union with a barrage of insults en route to the fateful summit with Putin in Helsinki where he managed to commit nearly every blunder imaginable short of stepping on his own long red tie.

There are those, of course, who will continue to pledge loyalty to him in the mistaken belief that he “is doing what he said he would do” when in fact, he certainly is not. So far, he’s managed to convince Harley-Davidson and BMW to relocate American plants overseas. He’s overturned net neutrality. He is repealing one environmental protection regulation after another and doing the same with consumer protection laws. He’s destroying medical care while doing nothing to replace crumbling infrastructure. (Okay, he did promise to dismantle environmental and consumer protections and medical care—but are those really good things?

And let’s break down the issue of illegal immigration. Question: Why are so many Latinos trying to get into this country? Answer: To seek a better life. Question: How can they do that? Answer: They will work. Question: Why are we letting them take jobs from Americans? Answer (two parts): First, many of those jobs are jobs Americans don’t seem to want. Second, no immigrant EVER took an American’s job. American employers take those jobs and give them to illegal/undocumented immigrants who will work cheaper so they can make higher profits at the expense of your job and to the detriment of you and your family, so if you have a gripe, take it up with your former employer. It’s kind of like the drug smuggling problem. If there weren’t buyers, there would be no smugglers. Question: Why don’t they enter legally? Answer: See answer to previous question.

And even if he did accomplish what he promised, the results would, for the most part, be catastrophic for the very ones who continue to support him. That’s the cruel irony of the entire Trump experience: the ones who love him most are the ones he has promised to hurt the most.

Finally, let’s look at his support in Congress—the Republicans, a pretty shameful bunch in their own right, Louisiana’s own delegation included.

Most of you are far too young to remember and to tell the truth, I was only three when Richard Nixon first ran for Congress in 1946. As a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), Nixon plagued the Truman administration in a constant search for communists under every leaf in Washington and in every movie studio in Hollywood. Four years later, he ran for and was elected to the Senate. His entire 1950 campaign was based on red-baiting his opponent, Helen Gahagan Douglas.

Then there was the Red Scare of the 1940s and 50s, stoked by one Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, another Republican, and in 1964, one of the foremost Republican communist fighters, Barry Goldwater, was swamped by Lyndon Johnson in the presidential election. But Goldwater’s nomination laid the groundwork for what was to become a major anti-communism campaign for the Republicans, capped off by the Nixon comeback of 1968 and the 1980 election of Ronald Reagan, who carried on the anti-communism crusade with his classic line, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

Of course, with the new millennial, came a new enemy, Islam. But the threats of communist China, Russia, and North Korea always lurked in the background.

So now, saddled with the long-standing tradition of being the party to stand up against the Red Menace, Republicans are suddenly suffering massive whiplash from the party’s sudden lurch to the left, engineered by one Donald Trump.

What to do, what to do? Talk about a quandary. On the one hand, there’s tradition to uphold. On the other, there’s this misplaced loyaty to the party which somehow has found itself beholden to a man who has, by some accident of fate, been placed in the position of leader of the GOP and whose head is in such a position now that Putin is going to need a proctologist to find it.

Posted in Politics | 50 Comments »

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