New Orleans Continues On a Path of Decarceration

New Orleans public defender Dylan Duffey is facing trial on April 15 for the offense of advocating too hard for his client, a homeless man arrested on simple cocaine possession charges. According to a release from the Orleans Public Defenders office, Duffey asked Magistrate Judge Harry Cantrell to reduce his client’s $5,000 bond, arguing that the defendant was not a flight risk and deserved to enter a substance abuse treatment program rather than jail. Duffey was even able to secure spots in two different drug treatment programs for his client. These requests ruffled the judge, who refused to decrease the bond, and in turn placed Duffey on trial for contempt of court.

This is just the latest scuffle in the broader fight in New Orleans over reforming its severely broken criminal justice system. Public defenders have been going on the offense against local judges and district attorneys who’ve helped turn incarceration into one of New Orleans’ premiere industries over the past few decades.