Louisiana Civil Rights Legal Questions

Hello John: You have an absolute right under the United States and Louisiana Constitutions to receive any and all exculpatory evidence. In other words, if the prosecutor has evidence that speaks to your guilt or innocence, they MUST turn it over to you upon request. Not only do they have an obligation to give you all that they, the DA's office and prosecutor, have but they have an obligation under the Supreme Court precedents of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83; United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97; and Kyles v. Whitley, 514 U.S. 419 to go to their offices and the police department and seek out that evidence to turn over to you. Now, in Louisiana, depending on the court, you can receive the evidence of the prosecution in one of two ways. 1) You may file a written discovery motion with the court, wherein the court will order the prosecution to provide that evidence to you in a timely manner to prepare for trial; or 2) If the DA's office practices what is called "Open Discovery", there is no necessity for a discovery motion and the prosecutor should provide that evidence to you upon request. Since they appear to be fighting against giving the video evidence to you upon request, they are likely not practicing open discovery and it will be necessary for you to file a discovery motion.  I also noted a couple of other issues that could be taken advantage of in the facts you provided. If the arresting officer has been terminated by another department, there could be a credibility issue with the officer which could affect the court's belief of the officer's report and testimony. Another issue is that, if you have been arraigned (i.e. formally charged), your charges should have already been billed. So any resisting charges should already be in place. The prosecutor trying to leverage a pay fine or they will amend the charges to resisting, is by far out of the ordinary.  If you have been charged with resisting arrest, it is very important that you obtain legal representation to protect your rights. Resisting arrest can come with a fine of up to five hundred dollars, imprisonment of up to six months, or both. Do not answer any more questions from law enforcement without an attorney present. It is uncommon that the maximum is given, but I've seen many judges give 10 days in the parish jail for resisting charges. If you would like to consult with me further regarding this issue please feel free to set up a free consultation at my office and we can discuss what can be done. I'd be more than happy to help with any discovery and/or negotiation with the prosecutor for a reduction of the charges.... Read More

What customarily happens is that the attorney whose services were terminated files a motion to withdraw as counsel of record.  However, if you hire a new attorney, that attorney can file a motion to substitute counsel and have the previous attorney sign off on it.  Either way, this is a pretty simple process. Michael Barras... Read More