By Tracie Burke | Motion to Quash LLC | 9/5/2019
An institutional collapse of the legal profession in Jefferson Parish is unfolding before us and the proof is in the campaign finance abuse. Personality contests of which lawyer or law firm has more influence with judges in the 24th Judicial Court of Jefferson Parish have created fertile ground for dangerous trial court decisions for women survivors of domestic violence.
The Motion to Quash LLC Blacklist of the 24th Judicial Court of Jefferson Parish journeys through a labyrinth of injustice for women survivors of domestic violence. As a result of long standing financial ties of parties involved, a significant number of women are denied protective orders. Attorneys are hired to balance the scales of favoritism, not justice.
Motion to Quash explored data from the National Center for State Courts NCSC, the Louisiana Protective Order Registry LRPO for the years 2017, 2018, and 2019, the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women, the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, the Louisiana Secretary of State, the Louisiana Ethics Administration Campaign Finance Reports, CourtListener, PACER, Jeffnet, the Jefferson Bar Association, and the Louisiana State Bar Association.
Jefferson Parish significantly decreased the number of cases with the Louisiana Protective Order Registry each year since 2017, even though there was a significant increase in domestic violence cases of women seeking relief. Despite grants awarded to the Louisiana Commision on Law Enforcement to ensure protection, Jefferson Parish continues to deny a high number of protective orders for women, even though they meet the requirements.
ABOUT OVW GRANT PROGRAMS
The Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) currently administers 19 grant programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) of 1994 and subsequent legislation. Four programs are “formula,” meaning the enacting legislation specifies how the funds are to be distributed. The remaining programs are “discretionary,” meaning OVW is responsible for creating program parameters, qualifications, eligibility, and deliverables in accordance with authorizing legislation. These grant programs are designed to develop the nation’s capacity to reduce domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking by strengthening services to victims and holding offenders accountable.
In 2018, the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women awarded Louisiana $2,871,778 in grants to explore the unique dynamics and key issues of domestic violence cases. The objective was to achieve effective adjudication of Domestic Violence Cases. The grants were awarded as follows:
| Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence | $90,931 | OVW State Coal FY 18 |
| Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement | $457,634 | OVW SAS FY 2018 |
| Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement | $2,323,213 | OVW STOP FY 2018 |
Recommendations, Objectives, and Conditions
Longstanding financial ties between judges, attorneys, and the Jefferson Parish District Attorney have unbalanced the scales of justice for women survivors of domestic violence. These practices betray the public’s trust by ignoring the recommendations of the Department of Justice OVW to specifically address the unique dynamics of domestic violence cases and by failing to use its formula to protect women.
Therefore, Motion to Quash LLC is respectfully requesting that the Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women audit the 24th Judicial Court of Jefferson Parish, Jefferson Parish District Attorney’s Office, and named Law Firms to examine their practices to determine that:
1. The 24th Judicial Court of Jefferson Parish ignored the recommendations of the Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women and to reurge its recommendations
2. The 24th Judicial Court of Jefferson Parish ignored conditions designed to ensure programmatic success.
3. The 24th Judicial Court of Jefferson Parish and Jefferson Parish District Attorney did not meet the objectives of the Department of Justice OVW grant to provide effective adjudication for women survivors of domestic violence and to reurge those objectives.
The conditions of OVW awards are designed to ensure that recipients comply with the program’s statutory scope and programmatic requirements. Otherwise, women survivors of domestic violence would not be able to escape the Jefferson Parish labyrinth of injustice.
Tracie Burke is Louisiana Author of Motion to Quash. Her work focuses on providing education, information and justice for women survivors of Domestic Violence in Louisiana. She can be reached at tracie@motiontoquash.org
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