The city of New Orleans will have attorneys in two federal courthouses as the legal battle continues over the costs of judge-approved reforms for the police department and jail.
In U.S. District Judge Lance Africk's courtroom on Monday, the issue is how to fund jail reforms embodied in an agreement Sheriff Marlin Gusman reached with the Justice Department last year. New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu"s administration opposed the agreement, saying it burdens the city with the cost of bad management by the sheriff.
At the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, judges will hear the city's argument that it should be freed from a separate police reform agreement. Landrieu once embraced that pact, but now says the city cannot afford it and is making reforms on its own.
Photo courtesy http://colorlines.com/archives/2011/02/new_orleans_council_votes_to_shrink_citys_jail_size.html