| Viewing Single Post From: Blog and Media Roundup - Friday, July 3, 2009 | |
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| abb | Jul 3 2009, 03:43 AM |
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http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/capital/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1246544412232920.xml&coll=1 Files on Katrina deaths stay hidden Supreme Court asks for more information Thursday, July 02, 2009 By Laura Maggi Staff writer The Louisiana Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to decide whether former Attorney General Charles Foti's files from his investigation of charges that Dr. Anna Pou euthanized patients after Hurricane Katrina are public record and should be released to The Times-Picayune and CNN. In the decision, written by Chief Justice Catherine "Kitty" Kimball, the state's high court said a trial court judge must determine again whether any future criminal litigation against Pou "could be reasonably anticipated" before determining whether the news organizations can obtain investigative documents from the case. An Orleans Parish grand jury in the summer of 2007 declined to indict Pou after hearing evidence of her actions at Memorial Medical Center after the storm. She was arrested by Foti on murder charges for allegedly euthanizing four Memorial patients. After the grand jury finding, both Foti and the Orleans Parish district attorney's office stated that they would not seek further charges against Pou. Since Pou was arrested in July 2006, Foti's investigation was widely criticized by medical professionals and others who defended her care of elderly and sick patients in horrible conditions. The controversy contributed to Foti's defeat when he ran for re-election in 2007. The Times-Picayune and CNN have argued that the public has a right to know whether the evidence supported Foti's argument that the doctor, along with two nurses, committed murder by injecting patients with a "lethal cocktail" of morphine and Versed. In September 2007, 19th Judicial District Judge Donald Johnson sided with the news organizations, finding that most of the investigative file should be made available. Attorneys for Memorial employees appealed to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeal, saying their privacy rights would be violated if the public could read statements they gave to Foti. That court ruled that the documents should not be given to the news organizations because there is no statute of limitations on murder and a prosecution could begin at any time. The Supreme Court's opinion does not agree with the 1st Circuit, instead finding that the current record is "insufficient" to determine whether anyone is likely to face charges for their actions at Memorial. The court ordered Johnson to hold a hearing to determine whether future prosecution is reasonably anticipated, taking into account not just the intentions of the district attorney and attorney general, but other aspects of the case. Lori Mince, an attorney for both news organizations, noted that Johnson conducted a five-day trial two years ago about whether a prosecution was "reasonably anticipated" and determined it was not. "The Supreme Court should not have set that ruling aside merely to require the parties to have a new trial on the exact same issue," she said. Justice Jeffrey Victory agreed with the news organizations, saying in a dissent that he could not see any reason to have the trial court again hold a hearing about the possibility of future prosecutions. Justice Jeannette Theriot Knoll concurred in part and dissented in part. The other justices concurring with Kimball's opinion were Bernette Johnson and John Weimer. The decision does not say whether Greg Guidry participated. The final justice, Chet Traylor, retired before the ruling. In a related development Wednesday, Gov. Bobby Jindal signed into law a bill that doles out nearly $457,000 to pay some legal fees for Pou. . . . . . . . Laura Maggi can be reached at lmaggi@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3316. |
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| Blog and Media Roundup - Friday, July 3, 2009 · DUKE LACROSSE - Liestoppers | |
1:04 PM Dec 4
