Jeremy Alford and David Jacobs: Lawmakers eye changes in way courts work

 Louisiana lawmakers are likely to again consider changing the rules around whether criminal defendants must face a jury or only a judge, which would require changing the state Constitution. 
 Currently, defendants who are not facing capital punishment can waive their right to a jury trial and choose a bench trial, in which the judge decides guilt or innocence. In most states, the prosecution must also agree to forgo a jury. 
 Going with the bench trial can be a smart tactic for defense attorneys who believe a judge might not be inclined to convict their client, for whatever reason. 
 The issue came to a head during a meeting of the Senate Judiciary C Committee earlier this month when Rafael Goyeneche, president of the New Orleans-based Metropolitan Crime Commission, testified two judges oversaw more than half of the bench trials in Orleans Parish over three years, with one posting a 79 percent acquittal rate while the other acquitted 88 percent of defendants. 
 Much of the committee hearing focused on the cases in which two prosecutors did not call any witnesses or present any evidence, while also failing to ask for a continuance or to dismiss the case to preserve their ability to try again later. 
 New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams admitted that his young prosecutors screwed up and said they were retrained so it won’t happen again.
But he also laid some blame on the judges, who he said signaled which way they were leaning in the cases with their pretrial rulings, possibly spurring the defense attorneys to call for bench trials. 
 “That is a problem,” Williams said, adding that the way to fix it is to ensure that “both sides of the ‘v’” (as in “versus”) agree to a judge trial. 
 Judiciary C Chair Jay Morris, who was critical of Williams and his office during the hearing, nonetheless agrees with that argument. Morris said he’s been aware of the issue for two years, but hasn’t addressed it himself because he has had several other constitutional amendments on his plate. 
 “You can’t bring everything at once, but the time is right,” he said.
“That is definitely one that I or somebody else will be bringing.” 
 The Louisiana District Attorneys Association, which is in the midst of putting together its legislative agenda for next year, declined to comment through a spokesperson. LaPolitics also reached out to  the Louisiana Association for Justice but did not hear back in time for this report. 
 The idea has come up before, and the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers hopes that legislators put it to bed once again, said defense attorney Jeanna Wheat, co-chair of the organization’s legislative committee. 
 A trial by jury is one of the constitutional rights that defendants have that they can choose to give up, she said.
Sometimes, they believe their case requires the ability to set aside emotional aspects of the facts and focus on the letter of the law, which a judge may be more equipped to do than a jury. 
 Asked about the fact that most other states need the prosecutor’s agreement to hold a bench trial, she said that prosecutors in Louisiana have more power than their counterparts in many other states.
For example, Louisiana prosecutors can dismiss a case, while a judge cannot. 
“Prosecutors in Louisiana have a tremendous amount of control and discretion to drive the path of litigation,” Wheat said.
“This is one of the rights that the criminally accused hold near and dear because it is one of the few components of their case that they get to control.”
 Morris also said there is a need for a system that allows the public to easily access accurate information about the criminal justice system. Getting data from various jurisdictions throughout the state can be like pulling teeth, though the work underway by the Integrated Criminal Justice Information System Policy Board, chaired by 5th Circuit Court of Appeal Judge Scott Schlegel, could help make such a system possible. 
 Morris also would like more tools to address ineffective district attorneys.
Back when Gov. Jeff Landry was attorney general, Morris planned to bring legislation that would have allowed the AG to step in under certain defined circumstances, but got such “horrific pushback” he didn’t even bring it to the committee. 
 He also raised the possibility of going to the “Florida model,” where the governor has the ability to suspend a district attorney (and other officials), who the state Senate can remove permanently.
Under Article 10, the Louisiana Legislature currently has the sole power to impeach a state or district official “for commission or conviction during his term of office of a felony or for malfeasance or gross misconduct while in such office.”
 Morris stressed that he respects the state’s district attorneys and judges, and doesn’t want any proposal to be seen as a personal attack. 
 “I’m open to suggestions, but I feel like we really need to do something,” he said.
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