Five Caddo Judges Face Lawsuit

Five Caddo Parish judges are facing lawsuits behind accusations they unlawfully ordered the state public defender board to pay out-of-pocket expenses and overhead costs for conflict counsels. The Louisiana Public Defender Board is seeking an injunction to stop the judges from issuing and enforcing funding orders in indigent defender cases.

According to The Shreveport Times:

Judges listed as defendants in the case are: Katherine C. Dorroh, John Mosely Jr., Brady O'Callaghan, Ramona Emanuel and Charles Tutt. All preside over criminal cases in the First Judicial District Court.

The lawsuit is another bump in the rocky relationship between the state public defender board and some in the local legal community.

In past months, the Caddo District Attorney's office accused the board of withholding funding to drag out death penalty cases. During the recent Louisiana Legislative session, Rep. Alan Seabaugh filed a bill to strip the board of its power to oversee capital defenses. The bill was pulled in lieu of a study.

The current spat is about who has jurisdiction over the funding of public defender attorney services.

Read the entire article from The Times HERE.