The New Orleans City Council Criminal Justice Committee gets an update today from all major players on efforts to fight crime, as statistics show a modest drop in most crime categories.
Among the people scheduled to make a presentation is District Attorney Jason Williams, whose work has changed over the last two years.
District Attorney Jason Williams has started using prosecutorial tools he decried as a candidate -- like charging juveniles as adults, or seeking longer prison sentences for habitual offenders.
"As time went by, he learned that that wasn't doing justice to the victims and witnesses and law-abiding citizens," said New Orleans Metro Crime Commission President Rafael Goyeneche.
Goyeneche said it is to Williams' credit that he has proven to be adaptable in order to make sure justice is delivered. But he said the D.A. still needs to address issues like high turnover among his prosecutors. Williams has stepped in to prosecute cases personally amid a shortage of assistant D.A.s, but Goyeneche says that is less than ideal, because it takes time away from Williams' other duties.
"He's handling one case for the better part of two weeks when he goes into trial," said Goyeneche. "One week trial prep, and another week in trial."
And that is time Goyeneche says needs to be spent managing an office that still faces significant challenges.
