A state-of-the-art juvenile prison in Avoyelles Parish has finally received state funding to open its doors — a long-awaited milestone for a Louisiana juvenile justice system that has seen crippling budget cuts and a rash of inmate escapes.
Sunday, July 15, 2018
Monday, July 09, 2018
The ex-wife and co-defendant of former Louisiana prison warden Nate Cain pleaded guilty Monday to a single count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud in the federal corruption case in which Cain and she are charged, according to court records.
Thursday, July 05, 2018
A federal appeals court judge with New Orleans roots is among President Donald Trump's top three choices to fill the seat on the Supreme Court bench left vacant by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, according to a person familiar with Trump's think…
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Walter Glenn Soileau, a former Breaux Bridge city court judge, has been formally charged with pandering, prostitution and other crimes.
The ex-wife and co-defendant of former Louisiana prison warden Nate Cain intends to plead guilty in the federal corruption case in which the two are charged, court records indicate.
A New Iberia man and his juvenile son who had been found guilty in the November 2015 killing of a Louisiana black bear have been sentenced.
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
White House eyes Justice Greg Guidry of Louisiana Supreme Court for federal judgeship in New Orleans
WASHINGTON — Louisiana Supreme Court Associate Justice Greg Guidry is the White House's choice to fill a vacant federal judgeship in the United States Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, two sources with knowledge of the appointment proce…
Monday, June 18, 2018
The criminal case against former prison warden Nate Cain and his ex-wife will move forward after a federal judge denied their request to suppress evidence key to their indictments for improper purchases on the Avoyelles prison's dime.
Friday, June 08, 2018
A state grand jury on Friday indicted Iberia Parish Clerk of Court Michael Thibodeaux on 14 corruption-related counts, including racketeering, theft, malfeasance, falsifying public records and perjury.
Tuesday, June 05, 2018
The U.S. Justice Department has reached a settlement with law enforcement authorities in Ville Platte intended to end their unconstitutional practice of jailing witnesses to coerce them into cooperating with the police.
Monday, May 14, 2018
The Lafayette City-Parish Council is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to propose property tax increases on the Nov. 6 ballot.
Wednesday, May 09, 2018
A state appellate court refused on Wednesday to reconsider its April ruling upholding the legality of a 1976 Louisiana law that bars felons on probation and parole from voting.
Wednesday, May 09, 2018
Senate confirms New Orleans federal Judge Kurt Engelhardt for 5th Circuit Court of Appeals promotion
WASHINGTON — U.S. District Court Judge Kurt Engelhardt of New Orleans is officially getting a promotion to the federal 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Monday, May 07, 2018
A Louisiana judge has awarded a woman and two of her children more than $41,000 after hearing testimony that sheriff's deputies used excessive force on her when she was pregnant, shouted racial slurs and erased a cellphone video of the confrontation.
Wednesday, April 25, 2018
The Lafayette Parish courthouse was evacuated Wednesday after a 911 text message threatened the District Attorney’s Office, along with other courthouse personnel, and mentioned the possibility of explosives in the building.
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Stuart Kyle Duncan to a lifetime New Orleans-based seat on the federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, overcoming objections from Democrats and liberal groups.
Saturday, April 21, 2018
Louisiana split juries have convicted several people wrongly, but not enough data to discern a trend
Wilfred Moliere feels somewhat vindicated now. But he recalls the isolation he felt two decades ago inside a Jefferson Parish jury room, where his doubts about the murder case against Travis Hayes were met with silence from other jurors.
On the Louisiana Senate floor this month, one lawmaker shared a dirty little secret about a calculation some prosecutors make when deciding what charges to level against a felony suspect.
By the time authorities fished Bobby Byrd out of the Red River in 2011, they were pretty sick of him.
Thursday, April 19, 2018
WASHINGTON — Wendy Vitter’s long and outspoken advocacy for outlawing abortion made her one of President Donald Trump’s most controversial picks for a federal district court judgeship. Kyle Duncan’s record of battling all the way to the Supreme Co…
Wednesday, April 18, 2018
A former Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola guard convicted of covering up an inmate beating will be retried on a federal charge of beating the handcuffed and shackled prisoner during the brutal 2014 assault.
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
A lawsuit claims Louisiana authorities have illegally detained a teenage boy for nearly one year after his arrest on a burglary charge.
Thursday, March 29, 2018
A district attorney’s office that can prosecute only murder cases. State judges suing the parish governing authority. A prisoner wresting a gun from a guard in a courthouse hallway.
The Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office has arrested a correctional deputy accused of slamming an inmate twice against a security door and then punching him above the eye.
Settlement talks are underway in the federal lawsuit against Derrick Stafford and Norris Greenhouse, the former Marksville deputy marshals convicted in the shooting death of 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis after a car chase with the boy's father.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
A St. Landry Parish grand jury on Tuesday indicted 26-year-old Liquincy Revish, of Baton Rouge, for second-degree murder in the shooting death last year of 38-year-old Lester Bowman IV in Opelousas.
Monday, March 26, 2018
Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope’s criminal trial on seven felonies was pushed back indefinitely as Pope’s attorneys on Monday sparred with prosecutors over evidence, the proper trial venue and whether Pope should be tried on all the charges at o…
Friday, March 23, 2018
A split Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday shot down Gov. John Bel Edwards’ order that bans companies contracting with the state from discriminating against LGBT employees.
Thursday, March 22, 2018
WASHINGTON — A career federal prosecutor tapped by President Donald Trump to serve as U.S. attorney for Louisiana's sprawling Western District is headed for a U.S. Senate confirmation vote after receiving a committee nod Thursday morning.
Monday, March 19, 2018
When former Lafayette prosecutor Pat Magee got the call from Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry asking him take over as director of the agency's criminal division, Magee joked that his first reaction was, "Doggone it, Jeff."
A state judge on Monday ruled against an Acadia Parish landowner who wanted to halt construction of a 163-mile oil pipeline until resolution of a federal lawsuit aimed at shutting down the project.
Friday, March 16, 2018
A settlement agreement has resolved a federal lawsuit against a Louisiana sheriff over a handcuffed man's shooting death, an attorney for the dead man's family said Friday.
Wednesday, March 14, 2018
A federal jury on Wednesday found a Lafayette police corporal immune from civil liability in the 2011 shooting death of Quamaine “Dee” Mason.
Tuesday, March 13, 2018
The Louisiana Supreme Court sided with charter school backers Tuesday in a lawsuit that had threatened state aid for about 18,000 students.
Friday, March 09, 2018
Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope will have to serve a 30-day jail sentence behind bars if his appeal of the sentence is unsuccessful, Judge Jules Edwards of the 15th Judicial District Court ruled on Thursday.
Thursday, March 08, 2018
While Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope is appealing his 30-day jail sentence for contempt of court, he won't have to serve it, an appeals court has ruled, KATC is reporting.
Tuesday, March 06, 2018
WASHINGTON — A north Louisiana state judge's nomination for a federal judgeship sailed through the U.S. Senate Tuesday morning with unanimous support.
Accused Lafayette cop killer purchased AR-15 days after being involuntarily taken to mental hospital
The man accused of killing Lafayette police officer Michael Middlebrook legally purchased two guns last year within weeks of being involuntarily taken for mental health evaluation, according to court filings and testimony Tuesday in a daylong hearing.
WASHINGTON — Wendy Vitter, who was tapped in January by President Donald Trump for a federal judgeship, failed to disclose a number of past public remarks in response to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire, the panel's top Democrat charged …
Monday, March 05, 2018
Former U.S. Attorney Donald W. Washington has been appointed to serve as temporary Lafayette city marshal while the permanent, elected marshal serves a 30-day jail sentence for contempt of court. The temporary appointment from City Court comes as …
Thursday, March 01, 2018
A west-central Louisiana man described by a Baton Rouge judge as a "good Samaritan who turned out to be anything but good" was sentenced Thursday to 12 years in prison for raping an intoxicated woman he picked up outside a local restaurant after a…
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
A district judge on Wednesday ordered Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope to jail, finding the marshal has not made a good-faith effort to complete the terms of his probation, KATC-TV reported.
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
Only one sheriff's office in Louisiana has used a self-insurance program for sheriffs to pay sexual harassment and discrimination claims over the last decade. That's the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office, and it did so on two occasions.
Friday, February 23, 2018
Lafayette Mayor-President Joel Robideaux’s administration on Friday formally invited developers to submit their proposals for transforming the old federal courthouse on Jefferson Street, considered a critical piece of vacant downtown property.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Lafayette Marshal's trial pushed back; judge told recall petitions destroyed after effort fell short
Criminal proceedings against Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope were pushed back Tuesday to allow Pope’s attorneys to gather evidence in support of their motion to move the trial out of Lafayette Parish.
Monday, February 19, 2018
Trial is set to begin on Tuesday for Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope, although the presiding state district court judge will hear a number of motions from the marshal's attorneys before the proceedings can begin.
Trial is set to begin on Tuesday for Lafayette City Marshal Brian Pope, although the presiding state district court judge will hear a number of motions from the marshal's attorneys before the proceedings can begin.
Saturday, February 17, 2018
A state courthouse where security conditions do not fulfill legal standards versus a parish budget in such tatters that it can barely provide for basic services, including the criminal justice system that operates out of the courthouse.