The Orleans Parish grand jury’s indictment against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill is not “worth the paper that it was printed on” and undermines the public trust in the criminal justice system.
That’s according to New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission President/CEO Raphael Goyeneche, who said that the Supreme Court’s ruling is the quickest stay of an indictment he has ever seen. He also says the indictment is an example of politicians weaponizing the justice system to attack their opponents.
“This is extraordinary," Goyeneche said. "The attorney general was indicted for writing a letter to the (New Orleans City) Council and to the mayor citing what they were about to do may be a violation of state law. That was not a threat. That’s what the attorney general does. The attorney general enforces and applies the laws of the state of Louisiana. As a courtesy, she was urging the council and the mayor to stand down.”
Goyeneche added that the city did not take Murrill’s advice to back out of the dispute stemming from a law approved by the Louisiana Legislature and signed into law by Governor Jeff Landry in May that consolidated the Orleans Parish civil and criminal clerks of court offices. That dispute led to Civil Clerk of Court Chelsey Napoleon suing the city to prevent the council from appointing a new interim clerk in defiance of Act 15, which named Napoleon as the parish’s sole clerk of clerk.
Goyeneche said the stay is likely the first step in what could become a long investigation into possible wrongdoing by the Orleans Parish Criminal Court.
“I think this is the beginning of the next phase,” Goyeneche said, “In reading the stay order, the justices cited the fact that the judge did not apply—properly apply—state law. Judge (Leon) Roché, in this particular case, ordered the courtroom cleared. Under Louisiana law, grand jury returns shall be made in open court. When a reporter questioned the judge about why they were asked to leave for a grand jury returned, the judge had him handcuffed. That’s misconduct.”
Goyeneche says Roché is no stranger to controversy. According to Goyeneche, the MCC filed a misconduct complaint against Roché for violating state law by conducting bench trials and acquitting suspects without swearing in any witnesses.
“This is another example of the judge not applying or know Louisiana state law,” Goyeneche said.
Goyeneche also pointed out issues with special prosecutor Laurie White. The Supreme Court noted a conflict of interest between White and the Attorney General’s Office stemming from the Attorney General’s Office representing White in a civil sexual harassment lawsuit. Goyeneche noted another possible problem, White’s domicile.
“As a special prosecutor, the same measures apply to her as to a D. A.: you have to live in the parish,” Goyeneche said. “She doesn’t live in (Orleans Parish). She lives in another parish.
Goyeneche says he expects the Louisiana Bar and the Louisiana Judiciary Commission to receive complaints about this matter, prompting them to investigate the issue. Those investigations will be in addition to the Louisiana State Police investigation ordered by Governor Jeff Landry.
“We have more questions than we have answers at this point,” Goyeneche said. “It’s a black eye for the criminal justice system in New Orleans and really the entire city. We’re finding out that the people that were in charge of this were incompetent (and) conflicted, and now another investigation or a series of investigations are going to spin off from this.”
