Judges' fight puts New Orleans prosecutor in cuffs

A routine hearing in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court devolved into a tug-of-war Friday, with two judges tussling over the attention of a prosecutor -- who ultimately ended up in handcuffs. Friday afternoons are typically quiet at Tulane and Broad -- but the fireworks kicked off about 3 p.m. in Judge Julian Parker's courtroom. Parker was set to hold a status hearing in the case of Vanessa Johnson, who is accused of giving her son a gun he used to murder an acquaintance. The troubled case, which hinges on the uncertain testimony of one witness, has been delayed several times. Assistant District Attorney Francis deBlanc waited to handle the hearing. DeBlanc, however, was needed upstairs. He was the key prosecutor in a days-long murder trial in its final throes in Judge Camille Buras' courtroom. Buras wanted deBlanc; Parker refused to give him up. Buras marched into Parker's courtroom, and the pair chatted in his chambers for a few minutes before she stormed out. "C'mon Mr. deBlanc, you have a murder trial to tend to, " Buras said, motioning for the prosecutor to follow. Parker rose from the bench and pointed at him. "Mr. deBlanc, you walk out that door and you are going to jail, " he said. DeBlanc, a veteran prosecutor, sat in his chair, shook his head and sighed. Buras told him to leave. He began to rise. Parker shouted to his courtroom sheriff's deputy: "Put him under arrest. I'm giving you an order." The deputy handcuffed deBlanc, marched him across the courtroom and sat him in the jury box. Across the aisle, a handful of handcuffed criminal defendants in orange prison jumpsuits watched with wide eyes. Buras retreated to the hallway and said she was calling the criminal sheriff. Parker went on with an unrelated case. DeBlanc stared into his hands and into space while his murder trial awaited upstairs. At 3:30 p.m., about 30 minutes after deBlanc was handcuffed, the district attorney's chief of trials, Joseph Meyer, walked in and met with Parker in his chambers.

[pragmatist]

Pathetic.

Judge Parker should be ashamed of himself. How dare he preside over ANY case being prosecuted by Mr. deBlanc when Parker has already shown, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is severely biased against Mr. deBlanc.

In Sept 2007, Parker issued a warrant for deBlanc's arrest because deBlanc was not in Parker's courtroom when he wanted him there.
http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index....

Furthermore, Parker is severely biased against The People, in general, having opined that the State frames innocent bystanders.

In Dec 2007, Parker order the arrest and criminal record of Judge C. Hunter King to be expunged. King had pleaded guilty in May of conspiracy to commit public payroll fraud. He also ordered that King's guilty plea be "set aside," a legal move equal to an acquittal under Louisiana law. http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2007/12/di...

Why would Parker do that? Well, obviously he believes that judges are above the law and certainly higher on the food chain than lowly prosecutors.

New Orleans continues to be a third-world country.

[Samson Babayan]

Wasting their time.....The biggest criminals are in Washington.Politicians, CEO's like Richard Fuld who walked away with 500 million dollars and Lee Mozillo who walked away with 700 million dollars while American tax payers pay for their crimes.