St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Randy Smith is facing charges for allegedly attacking a podcaster in a Madisonville steakhouse last week.
That podcaster, Robert Couvillon, had been critical of Smith and, according to the sheriff, critical of his family.
Smith said he would address the allegations through the legal process. The question is: does the law stand on Smith's side?
"There are various principles of justification that exist under Louisiana law," Loyola University law professor Dane Ciolino said. "Usually for something like this, the best justification that could possibly exist would be self-defense."
However, Ciolino told WWL's Tommy Tucker that attacking someone because of something they said to you or about you is not one of those justifications.
"Generally, someone being provoked by words alone is never going to be a justification for battery," Ciolino said. "If the sheriff was approached and pushed or shoved or threatened in a manner that justified a response, a violent response, that would be his self-defense."
According to Ciolino, investigators' descriptions of what happened in the Madisonville steakhouse suggest Smith was in the wrong.
"If it was just a years-old grievance and fueled by alcohol (and) he threw a punch, there's nothing justified about that under any law," Ciolino said. "The only way that I can justifiably use force against you is if (you were) some legitimate threat that you were getting ready to punch me first. Just being drunk and angry is no justification."
Ciolino says the public still hasn't seen all the evidence, including video of the incident. That evidence, Ciolino says, could determine how Sheriff Smith's lawyers approach the case.
"There's not a lot of interesting legal issues in this case," Ciolino said. "It's all fact issues, whether there was any justification (and) whether the batter caused seriously bodily harm or just minor harm. There are a lot of interesting evidentiary issues to come."
St. Tammany Parish President Mike Cooper issued a statement Friday addressing the Smith's arrest.
“While the situation is disheartening on all sides, Sheriff Smith is taking responsibility for his actions," Cooper said. "I ask our citizens to continue to support the men and women of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office who protect our community every day. I extend my prayers to all those impacted by this incident.”
