Louisiana

Indigent Defense Assistance Board

Minutes of the Board Meeting

June 22, 2001

New Orleans, Louisiana

Stone Pigman Law Firm

Members Present: Risley C. Triche, Chair; Alfred Boustany; Frank DeSalvo; John Di Giulio; Cameron Gamble; and Michelle Ghetti.

Ex Officio Members Present: Anthony Champagne.

Staff Present: Edward R. Greenlee; Marsha Austtun Oliver; and Emer J. Williams.

Guests Present: Emily Bolton, Ben Cohen, Sharlayne Jackson, Denise LeBoeuf, Jim Looney, Candace O’Brien, Clive Stafford Smith, David Utter, Neal Walker and Laurie White.

Call to Order and Opening Remarks. The meeting was called to order at 1:10 p.m. by the Chair. Mr. Greenlee called the roll; a quorum was present. The Chair gave an overview of the agenda, and then called upon new members, Alfred Boustany and Cameron Gamble, to introduce themselves.

Review and Adoption of Minutes of the Last Meeting. The minutes of the previous meeting on March 22, 2001 were read and adopted without objection.

Authorization to File Minutes of Previous Meetings. The Board unanimously authorized the filing of the minutes of previous meetings held on March 11, 1999, May 13, 1999, June 24, 1999, July 22, 1999, May 18, 2000, June 22, 1999 and October 25, 2000 with the notation that these minutes, prepared by Jelpi P. Picou, Jr., former Director, reflect the proceedings and actions taken by the board at those meetings to the best of their recollection.

Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana Update. Denise LeBoeuf, Director of the Capital Post-Conviction Project of Louisiana, reported that since the last board meeting more death sentences had been affirmed by the La. Supreme Court increasing the caseload of CPCPL to 52 cases, 34 of which were in pre-petition status. Ms. LeBoeuf advised the Board that CPCPL had received two grants; one from the ABA to pay for salary and expenses of hiring an additional attorney, and a second grant from the LSBA to produce a post-conviction manual.

Administrative Rules. Minor changes to sections 102, 106 and 112 of LIDAB’s administrative rules were reviewed by the Board. Professor Ghetti moved that the changes be approved and the rules be promulgated. Mr. DiGiulio seconded the motion which was passed without objection.

Capital Appellate Project. Presentations were made by Jim Looney, Ben Cohen and Neal Walker regarding the proposal that the Louisiana Appellate Project represent all indigents in Louisiana on appeal of capital convictions. Board members discussed the cost-efficiency of handling capital appeals by LAP. After much discussion the Board unanimously approved a contract between LIDAB and LAP for the representation of indigents in Louisiana on appeal of capital convictions.

Proposed Regional Conflict Panel. Mr. Greenlee presented a proposal for a regional capital conflict panel to handle capital cases where a conflict of interest existed and where no certified counsel were available for representation of indigents in rural areas of the state. The board discussed the pros and cons of the proposal and a committee was appointed by the Chair to study this proposal. Committee members are Mr. DeSalvo, Mr. DiGiulio, Ms. Ghetti and Mr. Champagne.

FY 2001-2002 Budget Review. Mr. Greenlee gave an overview of the revised preliminary budget for FY 2001-2002, which was approved and adopted without objection.

Other Business.

Innocence Project New Orleans. Emily Bolton of the Innocence Project New Orleans presented her request for a small grant to fund three summer law clerks to assist in the representation of indigents in post-conviction proceedings. IPNO represents only those indigents with a provable claim of actual innocence. Ms. Bolton introduced two of the three law clerks to the Board, Sharlayne Jackson and Candace O’Brien, both students at Southern University Law Center. Mr. DiGiulio moved for approval of the grant. His motion was seconded by Cameron Gamble and passed without objection. Professor Ghetti abstained, as both Ms. Jackson and Ms. O’Brien had been her students.

Joint Legislative Juvenile Justice Commission Appointment. The Board unanimously approved Mr. Greenlee’s appointment to represent it on the Ad Hoc Juvenile Justice Advisory Board.

Chicago Grant Seminar. Mr. Greenlee requested board approval to attend the Management Information Exchange Seminar in Chicago regarding grants funding. Mr. DiGiulio moved for approval of this trip. Professor Ghetti seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.

Capital Certification Seminar. Mr. Greenlee requested that the Board approve the Southwestern Louisiana Bar Association Death Penalty continuing legal education seminar scheduled for June 28-29, 2001 in Lake Charles for capital certification credit. The Board unanimously approved this request.

Ethics Opinion Request. Mr. DeSalvo related that he had been appointed to represent an indigent in post-conviction proceedings and asked Mr. Greenlee to request an ethics advisory board opinion as to whether his position on the Board was a conflict of interest. Mr. Greenlee agreed to promptly make such a request.

SCR165 Overincarceration of Juveniles. Pursuant to Senate Concurrent Resolution 165, the Board designated Professor Ghetti as its representative on the Department of Justice Juvenile Rehabilitation Study Commission.

Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana Report. The Chair called upon Mr. David Utter, director of the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana, to explain program and the problems of juvenile representation in the state. Mr. Utter gave an overview of the program and a summary of problems that exists which include a lack of resources, systemic barriers existing within the system, part-time juvenile defenders and a lack of adequate advocacy for juvenile defendants.

Adjournment. There being no additional business brought to the attention of the Board, the Chair entertained a motion to adjourn, which was seconded and passed without objection.