In a victory for the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana, the New Orleans Civil District Court today ordered Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro to turn over public records from the past five years identifying the prosecutors in his office who have issued or authorized false subpoenas, or documents that claim to be subpoenas but were not issued by a court.
“This ruling is a victory for the people of Orleans Parish and an important step towards restoring justice,” said Marjorie R. Esman, ACLU of Louisiana executive director. “These false subpoenas were used to deceive people and violate their rights -- Louisianans deserve to know who was responsible.”
In May, the ACLU of Louisiana requested Cannizzaro to provide records identifying lawyers in his office who have issued or authorized false subpoenas, or documents that claim to be subpoenas but were not issued by the court. Cannizzaro denied the ACLU of Louisiana’s request, in violation of Louisiana’s public records law.
In response, the ACLU of Louisiana filed a lawsuit, Esman v. Cannizzaro, in the Civil District Court for the Parish of Orleans seeking to compel the District Attorney to produce the requested documents.
Today’s court ruling restricted the open records request to records from the past five years.
