Recent criticism of the Mardi Gras case refusals by the Orleans Parish district attorney’s office lacks important legal and historical context.
The prosecutor has a legal and ethical duty to evaluate every case brought by the police to determine if there is sufficient evidence. Evidence seized as a result of illegal or questionable police actions cannot be used at trial. This is not a local policy created by Jason Williams. It is the law under our Constitution. Law enforcement, including the Louisiana State Police, have a duty to enforce the law accurately and fairly. Prosecutors have a sworn duty to act as gatekeepers to bad cases and refuse those bad cases.
It is not unusual to quickly screen cases. For many years under prior DA Leon Cannizzaro, state misdemeanors, like many of the arrests over Mardi Gras, were prosecuted in Municipal Court. It was routine for prosecutors to screen and resolve such cases on the same day at their initial appearance before the court.
The cases that were dismissed were not allegations of anyone brandishing a weapon. Without the quick action by the DA’s office, these non-violent cases would have languished, clogging up the system. The district attorney’s office properly assessed these cases, freeing resources to focus on more serious, complex matters. This should be the norm, not the exception.
We all have a role to play in making our city safer, healthier and more equitable. But justifying questionable police and prosecutorial practices by invoking public safety does none of these. Public safety cannot be driven by uninformed alarmism and dog whistles, and it certainly cannot come at the expense of constitutional rights.
SIERRA THOMPSON
interim chief public defender
New Orleans
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