Louisiana DA’s office settles all claims over the use of fake subpoenas

Civil Rights

The Orleans Parish District Attorney’s Office has settled a long-running federal civil rights lawsuit over New Orleans prosecutors’ use of fake subpoenas — along with other hardball tactics under former DA Leon Cannizzaro — according to court records.

The suit, brought by the Washington-based organization Civil Rights Corps and the ACLU on behalf of a group of plaintiffs who claimed they were jailed, or threatened with jail, after allegedly failing to cooperate with criminal prosecutions. Most of those plaintiffs said the DA’s office served them with so-called “DA subpoenas,” a term prosecutors used to refer to the bogus subpoenas.

New clergy sex abuse claims against archdiocese pour in as filing deadline arrives

Catholic Sexual Abuse

As a 5 p.m. deadline to file sex abuse claims against the Catholic Church loomed, roughly 50 claimants filed forms saying they were preyed upon by members of the clergy.

Another 370 claimants filed proof of claim forms saying the Archdiocese of New Orleans owed them millions of dollars for other reasons, from outstanding utility company bills to accidental falls on church property.

The New York-based firm processing the compensation demands received at least 56 claims in which the claimant’s name and address was intentionally omitted, a likely signal those were filed by anonymous clergy abuse victims.

That number is likely to grow, according to attorneys counseling alleged victims.

Uncertainty surrounding the total number and value of claims could linger throughout the week. Claims can