It sounds unusual that the Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office would need to enlist the help of high profile personal injury attorney Morris Bart for help.
But such a partnership, and at no charge no less, has been forged.
“Well, it’s certainly unusual, but it’s not anything that’s improper or unprecedented,” Says Attorney Dane Ciolino. “There are a number of lawyers in law firms who have performed pro-bono service at Criminal District Court.”
Lawyers for Bart will start screening cases for the DA’s office on whether they meet the criteria for bringing charges against a defendant.
“The screening efforts really are just to assist them in doing the job that they have sole constitutional authority to do,” Ciolino says.
The final decision to proceed with charges and trial is in the hands of the Assistant District Attorneys.
The partnership, announced over the weekend, seems to reflect the Bart firm’s desire to help out District Attorney Jason Williams address a backlog and deal with a heavy docket of cases that need screening.
Ciolino says it’s not uncommon for such help to be performed.
“There are all kinds of part-time district attorney’s all across the country and the state who handle both criminal cases and civil cases concurrently,” Ciolino points out. “The issues presented by Mr. Bart’s role in screening cases are no different from the possible conflicts in those cases.”
According to Ciolino, it’s a win-win situation: “Any opportunity to get the community more involved with public safety is a good opportunity,” Ciolino says. “This is just an effort to get more people involved and to save resources of the DA’s office. I just don’t see any downside to it.”
Expect a news conference from DA Jason Williams and/or Morris Bart in the coming days.