we saw that...

FLASHBACK: la. supreme court chief justice catherine d. "kitty" kimball 2009 address to the joint session of the legislature

on 28 april 2009 the louisiana legislature held a joint session to hear a report from the chief justice of the louisiana supreme court, catherine d. "kitty" kimball, called "the state of the judiciary in louisiana."

chief justice kimball opens by stating "i must tell you there are so many good things happening in our judiciary right now that i literally could speak to you for several hours and not cover all of them."

chief justice kimball then goes on to explain that right after she became chief justice she put out something called a vision statement for the court.

it's a simple statement by which they intend to measure the judicial system and the standard by which they intend to effectuate the change necessary to bring this vision to reality.

she said this "vision" is: hardworking judges that treat all within their purview with kindness, fairness and respect and who require that same treatment by his or her employees and the attorneys who appear before them in court.

a judiciary that is recognized by our state and our nation as having those qualities.

they envision a judiciary that handles its work efficiently and appreciates and cares as deeply about the disposition of a child abuse case, a juvenile case or a custody case as it does about a high profile civil lawsuit.

this vision she said is shared not only by these justices on the supreme court but by the many hardworking judges at all levels of our state judiciary.

they have begun throughout the state judiciary to implement measures to make this vision a reality.

they want to improve case management at all levels of the judiciary. they want to know why some courts and some judges dockets are handled quickly and efficiently and some are not. so they are going to examine those issues and afford assistance to any court that needs help with managing their dockets.

they believe very strongly that the court system should be run for the convenience of the users.

other steps the supremes have taken in judicial reform: in 2008 they implemented stringent rules for financial disclosure by state judges. they also revised and strengthened canon xi of the code of judicial conduct. rule xi covers gifts.

they are also concentrating on improving the competency of the judges by improving the judicial education that they offer.

chief justice kimball said that

"we are concerned about the public perception of our branch of government. we have read, as have you, disparaging articles about our legal system from some national organizations.

we want to know the basis of these criticisms. if they are valid we want to address them. if they are not, we want to quell them.

to that end the court has appointed a committee to analyze these articles and to address them."

this committee consists of representatives from the governor's office including his executive counsel and senior policy adviser.

members of the legislature, including senators marionneaux and amedee and representatives harrison and abramson.

representatives from the conference of court of appeal judges, louisiana district judges association, representatives from labi, and labor, the defense bar, the association of justice and the state bar association.

this committee is enthusiastic in improving the image of louisiana's legal system. chief justice kimball said.

there is an increase in pro se litigants nationally and in louisiana using the court system. these are litigants who seek to file suit or pursue relief from a court without the assistance of an attorney.

chief justice kimball said that "obviously as the cost of litigation continues to be high and as the economy weakens more and more of our citizens who must utilize the court are trying to handle legal matters on their own.

the supreme court in concert with the louisiana state bar association has formed a committee to explore methods of assisting those pro se litigants in navigating the legal system.

in states such as ours where poverty might play a widespread yet unfortunate role in the lives of our citizens it is imperative that we move in this direction.

we must and we will, do more to make our courts available and accessible to all of louisiana citizens no matter what their means."

chief justice kimball goes on to discuss other things like the states lousy criminal justice and juvenile systems. she said that the juvenile justice system is something that is very dear to her heart.

she sure utters a lot of sweet sounding verbiage but is chief justice kimball naive or is she just a liar?

it was not even a handful of months after she stood there and said all about the judiciary and the legal system to the joint session, that we saw unethical, alexandria, la. shyster gregory r. aymond, launch along with his associates: alexandria, la. attorneys susan ford fiser and katherine geary as well as aymond's close deep personal friend and alleged "former" law partner, pineville, la. city court judge, phillip terrell, aymond's frivolous, nuisance louisiana style good ol boy network shakedown scam lawsuit utilizing the pineville, la. city court and the internet to terrify.

no one from the supreme court or from one of these committees has ever contacted us to possibly attempt "to quell" anything we've ever posted about louisiana's lousy judicial system and attorneys. including the corruption we've uncovered so far in the pineville, la. city court. of coz we're not a "national organization."

so we seriously doubt that these committees even exist or that anyone is attempting to watch over and protect the so called integrity of the louisiana judicial system -- much less improve its image.

EXTERNAL LINK

la supreme court chief justice catherine kitty kimball suffers a stroke

excerpt:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The first woman chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court suffered a stroke on Sunday and was in intensive care.

Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball had an ischemic stroke, underwent a successful procedure to remove the blockage and was in recovery, according to a statement from the Supreme Court that was confirmed by public information officer Valerie Willard.

The 64-year-old Kimball of Ventress has been chief justice since January 2009... ~ read more

chief justice kimball was born in alexandria, la.
UPDATE: 25 july 2010
advocate: la. chief justice to return
click here to download three page .pdf [58 kb]

EXTERNAL LINK

louisiana supreme court’s oral arguments will be broadcast live on the internet

UPDATE:

video: mike small, esq. oral argument before the la state supreme court

Chief Justice Calogero announced today that, beginning in January 2007, the Louisiana Supreme Court’s oral arguments will be broadcast live on the Internet through the Court’s website. “The Court owes a debt of gratitude to Justice Kitty Kimball for her leadership in several recent technological advancements made by the Supreme Court, most notably our ability to now make our oral arguments available to anyone who wishes to watch them from wherever a computer with internet access is located, whether at home, an office or a public library.” This live stream of the Court’s oral arguments can be accessed by simply clicking on the Icon located on the Louisiana Supreme Court’s web site, located at www.LASC.org.


According to John T. Olivier, Clerk of Court, and Peter Haas, the Louisiana Supreme Court’s Information Technology Director, the stream is provided using a series of three cameras located in the courtroom, which allows for likenesses of the full bench, an individual Justice, and the attorney addressing the Court to be broadcast in real time.


Oral arguments at the Louisiana Supreme Court are scheduled every six weeks, with the next arguments running Tuesday, January 16 through Friday, January 19, 2007. Usually, there are two sessions of arguments each day, beginning at 9:30 a.m and again at 2:00 p.m (There will be no morning session on Tuesday, January 16, 2007 and no afternoon session on Friday, January 19, 2007.)


Under the guidance of the Court’s Technology Committee, chaired by Justice Kimball, the web stream is just another of several new technology improvements the Louisiana Supreme Court has made recently, making the Court‘s work more accessible to the public and easier to understand. For example, the Supreme Court maintains an award-winning website, which includes a list serve for the emailing of news and opinion releases.


According to Justice Kimball, “The Louisiana Supreme Court is pleased to be able to facilitate this access to the public and looks forward to additional innovations in technology presently in the works, maintaining the Court’s position as one of the most technologically advanced courts in the nation.”
click here for the january 2007 supreme court docket.

the tuesday 16 january 2007 afternoon session includes this rapides parish case:
note: this case is about the 15 october 1995 accident involving 17 year old katie hebert who died from injuries she received as a result of a car wreck at philadelphia road and haines creek bridge. see third circuit appeals court ruling no. 05-471.

2006-C -2001 JOHN AND KLEA HEBERT vs. RAPIDES PARISH POLICE JURY, ET AL.
ON WRIT OF REVIEW TO THE COURT OF APPEAL THIRD CIRCUIT

PROVOSTY, SADLER, DELAUNAY, FIORENZA & SOBEL,
John Dexter Ryland, Ronald J. Fiorenza;
For Applicant;

BROUSSARD, BOLTON, HALCOMB & VIZZIER,
Roy Seale Halcomb, Jr.;
BUSSEY & LAUVE,
Robert Lewis Bussey;
James C. Downs, District Attorney;
For Respondent.
CONSOLIDATED WITH 2006-C -2164

2006-C -2164 JOHN AND KLEA HEBERT vs. RAPIDES PARISH POLICE JURY, ET AL.
ON WRIT OF REVIEW TO THE COURT OF APPEAL THIRD CIRCUIT

BROUSSARD, BOLTON, HALCOMB & VIZZIER,
Roy Seale Halcomb, Jr.;
For Applicant;

PROVOSTY, SADLER, DELAUNAY, FIORENZA & SOBEL,
John Dexter Ryland, Ronald J. Fiorenza;
BUSSEY & LAUVE,
Robert Lewis Bussey;
James C. Downs, District Attorney;
For Respondent.

EXTERNAL LINK

getting railroaded louisiana style: state of louisiana v leslie otto ordodi

theres an old spanish proverb that goes "laws, like the spider's web, catch the fly and let the hawk go free;" we can certainly see here, here and here that is the case in louisiana. we can also see it in a louisiana state supreme court decision issued yesterday (29 november 2006) in it we see how someone can be charged and sentenced to prison on the whim of the louisiana criminal justice system. take the case of leslie otto ordodi formerly of iberia parish, louisiana. mr. ordodi found himself down on his luck, he had just went through a devastating separation and divorce, lost his job and his home was about to be repossessed. so, somehow "suspicious behavior" translates into (according to the state) robbing a bank, we guess because like willie sutton said "thats where the money is."

only one small problem though -- mr. ordodi never robbed a bank. mr. ordodi never pulled a gun, never passed a demand note, never asked for or demanded money from any bank clerk or teller. in fact all mr. ordodi was doing was in the opinion of a new iberia, louisiana, regions bank employee acting suspiciously. nevertheless, this didnt stop assistant district attorney jeffrey j. trosclaire from charging mr. ordodi with violating la r.s. 14:64 and la r.s. 14:27. the third circuit, for once, [actually twice], did the right thing and reversed mr. ordodi's conviction. not to be outdone the apparently mean spirited assistant district attorney trosclaire appealed to the state supreme court.

now we ask you what possible good could it serve putting mr. ordodi in prison at hard labor for three years? he didnt even commit a crime. isnt the point of incarcerating someone to punish them and also to rehabilitate them? dont you think that the experience of being arrested and having his name splashed all over the media was enough to "condition" mr. ordodi not to do something like that again? why are we taxpayers being forced to pay to incarcerate this person?

another question that comes to our mind is who decides how long someone should serve in prison for a crime committed? in other words how do "they" arrive at a figure of three years at hard labor is a fitting sentence for attempted armed robbery? do they consult with mental health professionals to arrive at this figure? or do they just pick a number from thin air? they pick a number from thin air is more likely.

so now you can be going about your daily business and in the opinion of someone else be deemed to be acting suspiciously and be charged with a crime that you might have been thinking about committing.

there was no need to lock mr. ordodi up for three years for something he didnt even do. now these five bastards JUSTICE JEFFREY P. VICTORY; JUSTICE JEANNETTE THERIOT KNOLL; JUSTICE CHET D. TRAYLOR; JUSTICE JOHN L. WEIMER; JUSTICE BERNETTE JOSHUA JOHNSON and thats what they are is a bunch of bastards theres nothing honorable or anything justice about them, have handed sweeping powers to louisiana's districts attorney. think of how the defense attorneys will get richer with all these new cases but then again isnt that what the law is all about -- curtailing freedoms and enriching lawyers? we certainly hope that the voters in these alledged "justices" districts remember them at election time.

CHIEF JUSTICE PASCAL F. CALOGERO, JR. and JUSTICE CATHERINE D. "KITTY" KIMBALL dissented and we thank them.


NEW ORLEANS (AP) — If you prepare for a holdup and walk up to a teller with a gun in your pocket, you can be convicted of attempted armed robbery even if you never ask for a penny, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

It reinstated the conviction of Leslie Otto Ordodi, who was sentenced to three years at hard labor for attempted armed robbery of two New Iberia banks on May 28, 2004.

An appeal court had overturned his conviction because Ordodi never made any threat or demand.

But the 5-2 majority ruled that there was enough evidence to show that Ordodi was planning to hold up a bank, even if he did not follow through.

He was despondent and had money troubles; went into the banks with a concealed, loaded gun; tried to hide his identity by giving a false name and wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses; took the license plate from his truck and left the engine running, and left each bank after seeing it was crowded, Justice Chet Traylor wrote.

"These circumstances support the jury's determination that the defendant specifically intended to commit armed robbery," he wrote.

Chief Justice Pascal Calogero and Justice Catherine Kimball wrote separate strong dissents.

Nothing that Ordodi did "went beyond mere preparation," Calogero wrote, quoting a state law saying that preparation is not an attempt.

Kimball wrote, "He made no threats toward anyone, he never demanded anything of value from anyone, he did not produce or brandish the gun inside the banks. Defendant never acted in a way suggesting he intended to rob either bank."

She also said that, although the majority speculated that Ordodi left because the banks were crowded, prosecutors did not present any evidence suggesting that he was worried by the number of people or went to the second bank hoping it would be less crowded.

EXTERNAL LINK

no one is buying supreme court chief justice catherine "kitty" kimball's baloney

[T]he Chief Justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court took offense Friday that two members of Congress think the state has a problem with crooked judges.
[...]
She called the comments Wednesday by Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, and Pedro Pierluisi, Puerto Rico's non-voting representative, about possible corruption in Metro New Orleans, a "slap in the face of these courageous and dedicated public servants in both the federal and state judiciary."

~ louisiana chief justice exchanges blindfold for rose-colored glasses by bruce alpert, new orleans times-picayune

EXTERNAL LINK

state supremes say no to cleo

well, this is certainly bittersweet news. although supporting senator fields would violate our no entrenched incumbent rule we've always had a soft spot for him. we wish senator fields the best as we're sure he will land on his feet and be back in politics before long.

lasc.org

EXTERNAL LINK

state supremes remove 24th jdc judge joan s. benge from office

we bet these kinds of deals go on everyday in courthouses, law offices and back rooms all over louisiana.

the problem here was that the feds had a wiretap and recorded everything.

In part, Judge Benge (“JB”) and Judge Bodenheimer (“RB”) stated the following during that conversation:

interestingly, it took news reports from the times-picayune to get the judiciary commission's attention into opening a file.

The Judiciary Commission opened a file in this matter after The Times-Picayune published a story on April 25, 2003, bearing the headline, “Judge defends award as impartial – recipient to plead guilty in court probe” and a report on April 26, 2003, entitled, “Jeff court scandal deepens – Demma confesses to conspiring to influence judge.” Judge Benge was given the required notice that a Commission file had been opened based upon the newspaper articles.

judge benge and judge bodenheimer both worked together at the jefferson parish district attorney's office. he was her supervisor.

if you like reading about crime and drama its forty-three pages of worthwhile reading.

UPDATE: slabbed has more

EXTERNAL LINK

louisiana supreme court chief justice address to the joint session of the state legislature

around 5:13 p.m. cdt the louisiana supreme court chief justice, catherine d. "kitty" kimball addressed the joint session of the louisiana legislature about the state of the judiciary.

EXTERNAL LINK

cleco corporation vs samuel sansing, energy management services, l.l.c. and david keith pugh

we've noticed that since we've been posting some lawsuits and pleadings that we've been receiving some googlers from all over; we assume, judging from the keywords and search strings, looking for various types of pleadings to serve as a template for their own lawsuits.

most of these visits appear to be coming from private individuals but there are also some law firms.

back in 2009, louisiana supreme court chief justice, catherine d. "kitty" kimball, in her first address to the joint session of the louisiana legislature, told the lege, that "as the cost of litigation continues to be high and as the economy weakens more and more of our citizens who must utilize the court are trying to handle legal matters on their own."

this case should have something for just about everyone. there's motions to compel discovery, motions to extend time to respond, motions to recuse judges, tons of witness and deposition subpoenas and on and on.

there's even some la. code of civil procedure art. 971. special motion to strike, although an article 971 motion wasnt really applicable to this case; even if one were, compared to others that we've read, this one was horribly pled by mr. pugh's attorney, s. aaron siebeneicher (johnson & siebeneicher) and mr. sansings' timothy shumate (chris roy, sr.).

for the best chance for success an article 971 motion should be its own well briefed, stand alone motion. instead what happened here is the attorneys decided to include it, almost as an afterthought, in a motion for peremptory and dilatory exceptions and reconventional demand.

several of cleco's many attorneys richard a. rozanski, (wheelis & rozanski) and jennifer l. thornton, (stanley, fanagan & reuter), both of whom are freaking pit bulls, totally destroyed them in their opposition briefs and the trial court (judge george c. metoyer, jr.) eventually denied them.

we cant tell where the third circuit appeals court took it up on a supervisory writ -- although on page 623 the third circuit did grant a motion to strike for mr. sansing regarding "the references to the depositions of sonny craig and ned randolph and the affidavit of samuel sansing are hereby ordered stricken as they were not submitted to the trial court." but that doesnt appear to be related to the article 971 special motion to strike.

nevertheless, if you're looking for a template for an article 971 special motion to strike -- dont use this one. check this one out .pdf 16 pages [187 kb].

what this case boiled down to is that mr. sansing and mr. pugh both worked for cleco and when they left cleco's employ "cleco paid pugh a severance package of $76,668" and mr. sansing $175,000.00.

mr. sansing and mr. pugh were aware that cleco had been over billing or defrauding the city of alexandria and its electricity rate payers for many years amounting to millions of dollars.

so instead of going to the police and reporting it so that the police could investigate and the city and its rate payers could recover 100% of the over billings -- they go to the alexandria city council and its then mayor and in a complete abdication of their fiduciary duty to the city and its rate payers, they enter into an agreement with mr. sansing and mr. pugh to give them an incredible 50% of any money they recovered.

as you can imagine all this angered and likely frightened cleco and in one of the pleadings there is a vague reference to an unnamed alexandria city councilman who had a physical confrontation with an unnamed cleco employee at an unnamed local restaurant that happened right after cleco learned that the city had signed this contract with mr. sansing and mr. pugh and their energy management services, l.l.c.

cleco wanted their severance money back and didnt mind spending what must have amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to recover what amounted to around $252,000.00.

the louisiana supreme court is what saved mr. sansing and mr. pugh.

mr. sansing wanted cleco to produce "a certain document" which cleco declined and wanted a protective order which judge metoyer refused to grant and ordered cleco to produce the document.

cleco fought this all the way to the supreme court who remanded it back to judge metoyer and instructed him "to render a new ruling on cleco's motion for protective order, including specific findings on the applicability of the crime-fraud exception, after appropriate briefing from the parties and, if necessary, an additional in camera review of the privileged documents."

after the supremes ruling in mid may 2009, it appears that cleco abandoned the case as there has been no activity since.

EXTERNAL LINK

former jena police chief george king wins at state supremes

it really sucks when a bunch of red necks in a small louisiana town and parish have a falling out...click link to read 22 page .pdf.

(Parish of Lasalle) (Malfeasance in Office)
For all of the above reasons, we find defendant has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that the district attorney should be recused pursuant to La. C.Cr.P. art. 680(1). Consequently, we find the trial court erred in denying the motion to recuse the district attorney. Accordingly, we affirm the court of appeal’s order granting defendant’s motion to recuse the district attorney and remanding the case to the trial court for further proceedings.

AFFIRMED AND REMANDED.
VICTORY, J., dissents and assigns reasons.
TRAYLOR, J., dissents.
KNOLL, J., dissents for the reasons assigned by Victory, J.
WEIMER, J., concurs in the result and assigns reasons.
On October 21, 2003, a LaSalle Parish Grand Jury returned a true bill of indictment charging defendant, George King, the Chief of Police for the town of Jena, Louisiana, with malfeasance in office in violation of La. R.S. 14:134(1).1 The charges stem from an incident that occurred on October 6, 2003, in which James Robbins, the Mayor of Jena, struck Gary Compton, a member of the Town Council of Jena, twice in the face with a closed fist after a heated verbal exchange. When the incident occurred, the mayor was accompanied by defendant, who allegedly witnessed and participated in the event, yet failed to take any action to prevent its escalation into a simple battery, and failed to make an arrest pursuant to an investigation.
[...]
defendant alleged the district attorney believed that defendant had either started or spread salacious rumors concerning the personal lives of the district attorney and a member of his family. Defendant further alleged the district attorney’s belief that he had started or spread the rumors had driven the district attorney to proceed with his prosecution instead of perhaps dismissing it as was earlier discussed by defendant’s attorney and the district attorney.
[...]
In the instant case, the district attorney candidly and admirably admitted his belief that defendant was responsible for spreading or starting offensive rumors about him and a family member was a factor in his decision to proceed with the prosecution against defendant. Because of this, we find his personal interest in the cause would lead a reasonable person to question whether he could conduct defendant’s trial fairly and impartially.

====

EXTERNAL LINK

ball mayor roy hebron, police chief others indicted!

UPDATE: 05 february 2011 ball mayor roy hebron plead guilty and resigned today

INDICTED

town of ball, la. mayor roy hebron

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town of ball, la. police chief jay barber

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SHREVEPORT (AP) -- A federal grand jury has indicted the mayor of Ball, the town's police chief and three other municipal employees in a case involving hurricane disaster fraud. read more

ap: town of ball, la. mayor roy hebron, police chief jay barber, town clerk brenda kimball, police officer curtis atkins and judy crowe, a police department employee indicted on fraud charges relating to hurricane relief funds.


town of ball, la. official website: www.ball.govoffice2.com

hebron et al indictment press release two page .pdf [27 kb] from office of u.s. attorney donald washington.

click here to download six page .pdf copy of the indictment [201 kb]

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related posts

ball mayor roy hebron plead guilty and resigned today

ball mayor roy hebron named to a piyush scam transition team

"mark in atlanta, texas" on gadsen flag traffic stop in ball louisiana

UPDATED report: fbi has ball, louisiana city hall locked down

illegal aliens found in ball, la.

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last updated 7: 39 pm cst saturday 05 february 2011
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EXTERNAL LINK

state senator rob marionneaux threatens to sue the daily kingfish blog

daily kingfish had ran a check of outstanding parking and traffic tickets on the city of new orleans official website nola.gov and found over $2,000 worth of unpaid parking/traffic tickets linked to what they thought was state senator rob marionneaux's legislative prestige license plate "LA17" and posted it.

not long afterward, daily kingfish received "several vaguely threatening emails from the senator's senate committee staff regarding the parking tickets issue."

eventually, dk received an electric letter from senator marionneaux himself threatening legal action unless dk retracted its post.

a few minutes ago wst... ran a check from nola.gov for unpaid traffic tickets registered to license plate "LA17"

in his letter to dk, senator marionneaux wrote that his vehicle has "never been registered with the state plate 'LA17'" and that he had his boys over at the city of new orleans parking ticket division as well as at the department of public safety and corrections, office of state police and office of motor vehicles look into the matter -- and wouldnt you know it -- each office confirmed that he does not have any outstanding violations on his driving record.

left unanswered in all this, is who is the owner of the prestige plate "LA17" and is it indeed a legislative prestige plate?

read the daily kingfish story here.

EXTERNAL LINK

FLASHBACK: chet traylor honored by joint session of loony looziana legislature

immediately following louisiana supreme court chief justice, catherine d. kimball's 28 april 2009, address to the states finest collection of freaks, perverts and criminals masquerading as the joint session of the louisiana legislature, about -- of all things "the state of the judiciary," retiring associate justice, chet traylor was personally recognized by them for honor.

we watched the whole thing live ... if only we knew then what's been reported lately. we would have loved to have been a fly-on-the-wall. our eyes would have been fixed on state representative noble ellington and his posse. what was he thinking? what was he saying during all this?

part of their suspension of the rules was to waive calling the roll, so we dont know for sure that he was even present.

chet traylor went ahead and retired from the supreme court and resurfaced earlier this month when he "unexpectedly" qualified to run against the incumbent david vitter for the republican party senatorial nomination in next month's primary.

mr. traylor is said to be the same politically with senator vitter which means that he is a totally safe candidate. we can expect traylor, if elected, to carry on supporting unconstitutional, laws as well as the illegal and immoral wars america finds itself in today -- just like treasonous, traitorous rat and subversive rhodes scholar david vitter. we can also expect mr. traylor if elected to support sending american kids to die for israel in iran.
.
mr. traylor's supposed calling card was that he was the hi-moral choice. except that not long after he qualified the gannett/monroe news star printed a report u.s. senate candidate chet traylor says he's done nothing unethical in his personal conduct.

from this we learn that mr. traylor has been accused of having affairs with two married women. one of the women was the wife of current state representative noble ellington. the other one is his step-daughter-in-law.

you'll just have to read the story or google it.

the thing is that all those freaks, perverts and criminals sitting in the house chamber that april day - they all knew all this was going on. yet not one spoke out to say 'hey this isnt right, traylor was messing with our colleagues wife (or family) we shouldnt be honoring him.'

EXTERNAL LINK

ball mayor roy hebron plead guilty and resigned today

gannett.the town talk excerpt:

Ball Mayor Roy Hebron pleads guilty, resigns

Longtime Ball Mayor Roy Hebron pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today, Jan. 5, to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in a case prosecutors said was a scheme to overbill a federal agency after Hurricane Gustav in 2008.

Hebron also has resigned as mayor, sending a letter to Secretary of State Tom Schedler saying the resignation was effective at noon today, Hebron’s attorney Mike Small said.

[...]

U.S. District Judge Dee Drell, who accepted both guilty pleas today, has set sentencing for Hebron and Kimball for May 6. ~ read more

hebron was just reelected ball, mayor on 02 october 2010.

EXTERNAL LINK

house candidate la - 08: louisiana trial lawyer calls in the trial lawyers for help after being held out to be ... a trial lawyer...

what?

one reason why wst... is not for tort reform -- wst... is for for lawyer reform ...

if lawyers; especially louisiana lawyers have a bad reputation then that is their own fault! because:

if louisiana had honest respectable lawyers and judges on the state supreme court, running the state bar and the attorney disciplinary board, the judiciary commission, the law schools, local bar and so forth, then the creation of such political advertising against a lawyer wouldnt be conceivable, much less believable, because a lawyer with a bad reputation would be an unknown thing.

however, we can draw from our own experiences over the past two years or so, along with those of a lot of other people to understand that louisiana courts are a huge scam.

louisiana judges and lawyers offend heaven;

clerks of court are corrupt whilst the marshal's look the other way.

we only know that what we know and may only see duke lowrie's flyers in that light and we dont see anything out of line in his reminding, warning, even ... the populace on the hazards of placing a lawyer in elective office.

we'd advise all lawyers who receive this email not to waste your money giving it to this guy ...instead ... grow a backbone and start speaking out about all the corruption; all the fraud and abuse that exists in the louisiana judicial system - its phenomenal. you know it -- expose it! after all, you never know who's listening in.
///begin\\\

Our profession is under attack



Dear Colleague:

As you may know, Jeff Thompson is a candidate for the Louisiana House of Representatives for District 08. The election is this Saturday, October 22nd. Getting people to the polls is going to be crucial, and is made more challenging by the LSU home game against Auburn that day.

Rather than address the issues, Jeff’s opponent has resorted to negative and false attacks. Lowrie has already spent more than $175,000 of his own money in this race and now recognizes the fact he must resort to false allegations and attacks to in an all-out effort to defeat Jeff at any cost. He has even filed a completely meritless lawsuit alleging that Jeff violated attorney/client privilege. This suit is a political stunt and is an abuse of the legal system. It is an example of frivolous litigation Lowrie claims to oppose.

The attacks Lowrie has resorted to also include a series of all out assaults on our profession. Attached are copies of the various direct mail pieces sent throughout the district. Please take a moment to read over them and see for yourself the ridiculous claims asserted. If you share my frustration at the implications and assault not only on Jeff, but on our profession, I ask that you please join me in this final week of the campaign and help.

How can you do that?

Make a financial contribution to help offset the tens of thousands of dollars in media buys and efforts Lowrie is making as a final effort in continuing the vicious, unfounded attacks which are certain to come in the last days leading up to the election. You can do that by making a secure online donation right now by clicking: contribute online here. You can also write a check, which we will gladly come and pick up. Just call me at (318) 747-7466 and let me know and someone will be right over.

Early voting has already ended, so if you live in Bossier or Benton, please be sure to vote this Saturday, October 22, and take your family and friends with you!

Help us with volunteers. You, your family members, runners or office staff could be used to assist with the campaign in these final days. We have things to do all day every day, so no matter when someone wants to help, we can put them to work! We are particularly working for a large turnout of volunteers for this Friday and Saturday. No amount of time is too small and all efforts would be very much appreciated. Just let us know by reply email or telephone call when volunteers may be available.

Desperate candidates do desperate things, and this election cycle has seen some incredible instances of mudslinging, misrepresentations, unfounded attacks and outright lies. We cannot sit idly by and allow these meritless assaults to continue. The price of getting that message out to the voters is increasing and your assistance in defense of not only our friend and colleague, but of our profession, calls us all to action. Please act now (contribute online here). Please also ask others to join us.

Thank you.
Richard Ray
Work: (318) 747-7466
Cell: (318) 426-4241



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blogger to candidates: address louisiana judicial corruption & stop insulting our intelligence

By Law and Grace, Inc.:

RE: David Vitter ad slammed as racist by advocates for immigrants
By: Jonathan Tilove
Times-Picayune @ nola.com

If David Vitter's campaign ads would more closely address and resemble the issues facing Louisiana, he would fare a whole lot better!

We have SO MANY Louisiana problems which need addressing, Vitter could help undecided voters --including me, to better ascertain what he intends to do about them!

Whether or not David Vitter dislikes people based upon the color of their skin, his pattern of operation demonstrates that he favors the ELITE class of people --to the unfair and unjust disadvantage of others (probably including immigrants, and not all Blacks --as I feel sure he has his 'tokens').

His pattern of conduct indicates that he thinks he has superior thinking skills to his audience by showing TV ads that talk about what Charle Melancon did or did not do for or with President Obama.

I don't give a flip about hearing Vitter's SAME STUPID OKEY DOKEY talk.

I PREFER to know which of the ISSUES & CONDITIONS affecting every day / non-elite people Vitter intends to address!

I have a grasp on what he does to make things better for the rich and powerful, but they are not the only residents of Louisiana --and many of them are getting old, and some are or will be indicted.

It is aggravating to hear Vitter on the television, Melancon, and others --but especially Vitter because he does it ALL THE TIME, continuing to talk about what is least significant in these crucial economic times!

I could have better respect for Vitter if he had better respect for his listening audience and talked about the issues of Louisiana which desperately need answers since not everyone is interested in pleasuring him or her self, or going hunting, and other gratifying things while being worried about economic conditions.

I AM FAIRLY CERTAIN that I never hear Vitter say anything those things because he does not intend to do anything.

I don't know if I want to vote for Melancon, but the jejune finger pointing at Melancon rather than concrete discussion of the issues wastes my time!

I am trying to give Vitter the benefit of the doubt since I against any politician who engineers judicial benches to be filled with inept and corrupt State as well as Federal judges; and who underhandedly influences appointments of U.S. attorneys!!!

I am further against politicians who pleasure themselves with travel and life's finest while their fellow-citizens endure constant ravages of crime and corruption, with no end in sight; and while their cronies receive slaps on their wrists when their acts of corruption can no longer be whitewashed.

Those are some of the issues for which Louisiana has needed answers for a very long time!

I reiterate my assertion that nearly every social problem in Louisiana can be linked to when controversies require judicial remedies and no other choice except face judges --whom, being friends and giving the best gifts or doing favors for judges ensures good outcomes.

And although there are many intelligent attorneys here, it does not require intelligence nor knowledge of the law, nor even submitting lawful grounds to become granted favorable rulings by certain judges, say for example, Ivan Lemelle and Kurt Engelhardt.

Now, since there seems to be changes in the way comments become posted here at nola.com (particularly for Vitter and his worshipers) here is what I'm posting throughout the Internet:
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Now is a good time for election candidates to be talking about solutions for the LOUISIANA CORRUPTION TITANIC rather than each other.

What REALLY is wrong with Louisiana is inept and / or corrupt judicial and U.S. Attorney in positions, that were mainly orchestrated by political placement power!

The justices’ abuses are EASILY PROVABLE by looking at Louisiana real estate / mortgage illegalities, and facilitating court judges.

Thankfully, FORECLOSURE FRAUD has center stage in the national media.

The light will shine brighter in this judicial corruption that has been hiding in plain sight here in Louisiana –and directly linked to Louisiana’ blighted communities \ commercial and residential frauds \ insultingly blatant Bankruptcy lawlessness \ illegal evictions \ unjust homelessness \ disintegrated households \ poverty \ violence \ joblessness \ substance abuse, etc. (Of course, I have approached lawmakers –to no avail– with suggestions, only to incur severe reprisals. And, an option does not exist for me to retreat from doing what I believe is right, nor moving away from loved ones.

Presently –from Judge Thomas Porteous’ impeachment trial, testimonies about the “Louisiana Way” of giving gifts (bribes) and doing ‘favors’ for judges– members of Congress have more than ample information which makes it silly to impeach Porteous and disregard Louisiana in-your-face lawlessness.

Foreclosure fraud has now been explained so clearly, even a child can understand that some people have indeed been illegally tossed from their homes, it will not be hard to detect the unlawful foreclosures that occurred here –especially the illegal foreclosure that unjustly caused people to be Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita exiled from their homes (but their neighbors erroneously blame them for blight).

In fact, a mere GLANCE at Louisiana fraudulent property transactions surrounding Freddie Mac, Wells Fargo, and certain foreclosure mills here –supplies additional reasons for Capitol Hill to probe Louisiana.

**The current congress members who represent Louisiana have done zilch about decades of PRIMA FACIE foreclosure and mortgage fraud!

To reiterate: David Vitter, Charlie Melancon, and other candidates: You have the opportunity to show worthiness of people’s votes by not insulting our intelligence with finger-pointing at each other, but by talking about your plans for addressing the LOUISIANA CORRUPTION TITANIC; it seems headed underwater with all of us on board.

EXTERNAL LINK

pineville city court judge phillip terrell issues fraudulent judgement on behalf of his close personal friend/alleged former law partner greg aymond

as many are aware, unethical alexandria, la.shyster, greg aymond a/k/a gregory r. aymond, louisiana bar roll number 17,449 has filed a scam "defamation" lawsuit against a person that he claims, without offering a shred of evidence, posts to wst...

but all mr. aymond's "lawsuit" has done, is to expose even more members of the criminal network and given us important clues on how they operate.

to wit:

on the morning of monday, 28 december 2009, the "defendant" was served "legal papers" by a uniformed pineville, la. city marshal driving a big 'ol pineville, city marshal van.

this service was supposedly pursuant to louisiana code of civil procedure article 1234.
Greg Aymond Phillip Terrell Phony Legal Papers
after the marshal departed, the "defendant" noticed that the court order was null and void because it was unsigned -- page ten.

so, the very next day, (tuesday, 29 december 2009), he personally appeared at the pineville city court clerk of court office with the above "notice of hearing" in hand.

the clerk of court that was on duty that day he spoke to is named lindsay delrie.

he showed the "notice of hearing" to ms. delrie who confirmed that it was not signed.

additionally, ms. delrie pulled the case file containing the original papers that mr. aymond's attorney, susan ford fiser, louisiana bar roll number 22,366, ford law firm, 1630 metro drive, alexandria, la. tel. #318.442.8899, filed and the order there was unsigned as well.

ms. delrie searched all through the court house but no signed order could be found. page eleven.

next, the "defendant" showed ms. delrie the "citation and petition" that he was served on 12 november 2009 and asked her to point out to him the judge's signature ordering the "defendant" to answer the questions.

ms. delrie couldnt locate a signed order there either.

this could be important because weeks before the "defendant" was ever served mr. aymond posted some court papers which purport to contain an attached signed court order -- but that order didnt specifically order the "defendant" to do anything. besides, the "defendant" was never served with that order or even a certified copy of it or any other order whatsoever.

and just who is this mysterious katherine geary? what role is she playing in all this? as of this date and time the "defendant" has never been served with a motion and order withdrawing her as the "defendant's" curator.

why was ms. geary appointed as the "defendant's" curator in the first place?

mr. aymond has had the "defendant's" name, address and telephone number on file since june of 2007!

on or about 20 june 2007 mr. aymond telephoned the "defendant" and solicited his name to add to a list of "concerned citizens" in a letter he was sending to the rapides parish district attorney and the state attorney general requesting an investigation into the city of alexandria, la. council "apparent violation of the state's open meeting law."

the "defendant" copied and pasted the form of the request and emailed that with his name, address and telephone number to mr. aymond. wst... posted about it here.

back in 2007 the "defendant" was surprised that mr. aymond never sent him the complete copy of the letter he sent and it wasnt until november 2009 when he filed the below public records request to the rapides parish district attorney that he learned why mr. aymond never sent him a copy.

mr. aymond lied to the "defendant" -- he never used his name in the letter: apparently, is was a ruse to get his name and address.

RPDA Public Records Request November 2009

just because mr. aymond didnt include the "defendant's" name in the above letter still doesnt change the fact that mr. aymond had the "defendant's" name and address all along -- so why was a phony "curator" appointed? and why hasnt she withdrew?

by the way, the proper spelling of ms. marks' first name is tami and not tammy.

so the "defendant" left the pineville city court clerk's office that december day satisfied that he had fulfilled his obligation to notify the clerk about the null and void order.

next, the "defendant" went out of his way to make himself available for service of process for a signed, legal court order.

but the days stretched into weeks then over a month passed and no order was ever served.

click picture to enlarge

so on thursday 18 february 2010 the "defendant" noticed on the caller id a call from the pineville clerk of court office. he missed the call because he was out.

assuming that the pineville clerk of court was an honest, respectable person and was calling, for instance, to say that since the order was unsigned and couldnt be fixed or cured in time, the "hearing" scheduled for the next day was canceled or postponed or as they say in the biz continued, he immediately returned her call.


link to audio page

the "defendant" was more than a bit surprised and insulted to learn that the pineville clerk of court is not interested in running an honest, respectable office. instead, his deputy is a liar who tried to trick the "defendant" into coming into court -- probably because the appeals court would have simply ruled that since the "defendant" came into court anyway he effectively waived his rights.

the clerk also lied about the judge signing the order. when she knew that he had not.

the louisiana supreme court in in re jerome w. dixon teaches us that it is a felony under the louisiana public records law to alter court records:

In Re: Jerome W. Dixon

so if judge terrell did sign that order after the "defendant" had been served with a certified true copy -- which was unsigned -- then according to the supremes he could be guilty of a violation of La. R.S. 14:132 and possibly R.S. 14:123.

an interesting observation in the in re dixon disciplinary proceeding: three justices dissented and said that mr. dixon deserved even more punishment. one of the dissenters, the one who wrote the dissent to which the other two joined, is catherine "kitty" kimball who is now the chief justice.

the very next day, friday, 19 february 2010, the "defendant" received by certified mail number 7009 1680 0000 2340 4370:
Pineville Clerk Letter 18 February 2010

this "notice of hearing" IS NOT a court order nor could it be confused as one. notice that the pineville clerk sent a copy to mr. aymond's attorney, ms. fiser, who must have known, or should have known that this WAS NOT a court order.

noting that ms. fiser specifically requested that her motion and order be served on the "defendant" pursuant to louisiana code of civil procedure article 1234 he once again went out of his way to make himself available to receive same.

but no court order or any order or court papers were ever served on the "defendant" whatsoever until around 3:37 pm cdt wednesday 31 march 2010 when the "defendant" checked the mailbox and found the below "notice of signing" and "judgment."

Notice of Signing

curiously, the pineville clerk sent this by regular mail rather than by certified mail.

the very next morning, thursday, 01 april 2010 the "defendant" phoned the pineville city clerk of court teddy barbe for some sort of explanation.

incredulously, as you can hear for yourself, before the slams the phone down in the "defendant's" ear, mr. barbe maintains that you dont have to have a court order all you have to do is just know about a hearing.


link to audio page

wait a minute .... if thats true then why did they continue the 19 february 2010 hearing due to the "defendant" not being served a court order? why didnt they just say "well you know about it so show up or not but we're having court?"

by the way, louisiana code of civil procedure article 1603 states in part that "a motion for a continuance shall set forth the grounds upon which it is based..." the "defendant" never received a copy of that motion and order either.

doesnt it make sense that if mr. barbe was an honest, respectable person running an honest clerk of court office that he would have said to the "defendant" words to the effect of "hold on let me investigate this and i'll call you back."

after all we are talking about several potential felony violations of the law here.

like R.S. 14:133 filing and maintaining false public records (because the 26 march 2010 court hearing entire transcript as well as the "notice of signing" and "judgment" must be false public records and dont forget the 18 february 2010 "notice of hearing" letter they tried to pass off as a court order) and the aforementioned laws in the dixon case, there are also issues of 18 usc 1341 (mail fraud) and 18 usc 1346 scheme or artifice to defraud

then actually investigated it and called the "defendant" back and if he was in the right said something like "well, according to the code of civil procedure article blah, blah, blah and this and that court case, you dont need an order all you need is just know about it?"

or if the "defendant" was correct said something like "look i'am sorry let me talk to the judge and see about getting this turned around?" .

instead of slamming the phone down in a constituent's ear?

mr. barbe by his attitude and demeanor might be properly described as a freak. listening to that audio, he reminded us of that fictional character created by tulsa, oklahoma radio station kmod disc jockeys brent douglas and phil stone called "roy d. mercer."

we half expected him at any second to bust out with "how big of an 'ol boy are ya?"

is mr. barbe even qualified to be a clerk of court?

did you know that under La. R.S. 13:1884 a city court judge can appoint his own clerk of court? this is about as one (of many) of the dumbest laws there are.

all this does is allow these judges to appoint members of their crime gangs to that position in order to cover-up all the bogus orders and judgments they are or are not signing and/or serving.
mr. aymond in what he represents to be a blog post dated 20 february 2010 seemingly acknowledged the necessity of opposing party being served with a court order. although from the way its written, apparently, his attorney susan ford fiser lied to him in the part where he claims that it was her that discovered the failure of the clerk of court to serve the order.


as we've already written surely ms. fiser could have known, must have known, should have known that the 18 february 2010 letter from the pineville clerk of court's office was not a court order.

additionally, ms. fiser could have known, must have known, should have known that nowhere in her case file was any evidence whatsoever that the "defendant" had ever been served with a court order.

still ms. fiser traveled over to the pineville city court house that friday 26 march 2010 and apparently allowed an illegal court proceeding to take place.

it appears that ms. fiser allowed for the creation of a false public record as well -- in the creation of the illegal court hearing transcript. the entire hearing transcript is also a false public record. La. R.S. 14:133.

the louisiana code of civil procedure article 371 states in part:

[an attorney] shall not knowingly encourage or produce false evidence; and shall not knowingly make any misrepresentation, or otherwise impose upon or deceive the court.

ms. fiser could have known or must have known or should have known that when she returned to her office and typed up her ill gotten "judgment" that she was creating a false public record and when she presumably deposited it into the mail to the pineville clerk of court office that act could possibly be interpreted as a violation of 18 usc 1341 and maybe 18 usc 1346.

so is all this evidence that ms. fiser has knowledge of and is helping work the scam -- or is it evidence that ms. fiser is an incompetent attorney?

mr. aymond's friend, judge phillip terrell, of all people, could have known or must have known or should have known that he had never signed a court order as well. didnt he bother to look at the case file before him?

judge terrell, could have known or must have known or should have known that there was no evidence whatsoever that the "defendant" had been served with any court order.

EXTERNAL LINK