Is the legal system in Louisiana about to get a flood of appeals from people convicted of felonies in New Orleans over the last couple of years? A mistake in who can and cannot serve on criminal juries in New Orleans could lead to a wave of filings.
In 2021, Louisiana law changed, allowing some people with felony convictions perform jury duty. But New Orleans Criminal District Court, and a few other districts in the state, forgot to update their juror questionnaires, leading to possible wrongful disqualifications.
New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche told WWL's Newell Normand that could have repercussions.
"All of those trials that occurred over the past year and a half in Orleans parish could be ruled a nullity and they have to retry those," Goyeneche warned. "There's a possibility that the appellate courts may rule that the defendant was denied of his constitutional rights to have a representative jury pool."
However, lawyer and legal analyst Time Meche says an improper exclusion like that is not like removing someone from consideration because they are black or are a woman.
"No, not something like that, that would rise to a constitutional level," said Meche. "Probably the court's going to say it's harmless error."
New Orleans Criminal Court ordered a halt to trials after learning it had been improperly excluding convicted felons from serving on juries.
