Most & Associates’ Lawyers are Two-Thirds of Louisiana SuperLawyers' Civil Rights Section

Attorneys Hope Phelps and David Lanser have been selected to the 2022 Louisiana Super Lawyers Rising Stars list. Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. Together, Ms. Phelps and Mr. Lanser comprise two-thirds of the 2022 Rising Stars Civil Rights section. Congratulations to Hope and David!

Attorney William Most interviewed by WWLTV regarding new information in Jerry Rogers civil rights lawsuit.

Most & Associates’ client Jerry Rogers, an investigator for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, was arrested in 2019 for sending emails critical of the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Federal court documents now indicate that the FBI called for a full investigation into his arrest, due to concerns of a possible criminal conspiracy by Sheriff Randy Smith and his staff. Attorney William Most was interviewed by WWLTV about the new information, and was quoted:

The Sheriff’s Office knew that this was an illegal arrest, they were warned that it was an illegal arrest, and they decided to go ahead with it anyway…That’s morally wrong and it’s also illegal, and the Sheriff’s Office will be held accountable for it.

Watch the full story on WWLTV here: https://www.wwltv.com/video/news/investigations/new-information-in-the-krentel-investigation/289-3b459a70-c011-40f5-a5b4-23206eb10cec

For more information, read the nola.com article here: https://www.nola.com/news/courts/article_389d1708-73d6-11ec-a435-c742c64d3ba9.html

Victory: Federal judge finds “overwhelming evidence” that City of Baton Rouge violated free speech rights of Most & Associates’ client.

On January 7, 2022, a federal judge ordered the City of Baton Rouge to withdraw its request for contempt sanctions against Most & Associates’ client Thomas Frampton, a law professor who had publicized video footage of Baton Rouge Police Department misconduct. Professor Frampton had been facing up to six months in the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison until the ruling. Professor Frampton is represented by a legal team made up of Most & Associates, the Tulane First Amendment Clinic, Jane Hogan of Hogan Attorneys, and the ACLU of Louisiana.

Frampton is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Virginia School of Law. In early 2021, Professor Frampton represented the Green family of Baton Rouge pro bono in a civil rights case against the City of Baton Rouge. The lawsuit addressed what another federal judge had called a “serious and wanton disregard” of the Green family’s constitutional rights by Baton Rouge Police Department officers. In May of 2021, the family settled the claims with the City.

Following the settlement, and at the Green family’s request, Prof. Frampton publicly shared body camera footage (available here) of the BRPD officers’ treatment of the Green family. On May 27, 2021, the video became a national news story: the CBS Evening news ran a piece entitled “Baton Rouge reaches $35,000 settlement with family after police strip-searched teen and entered home without warrant.”

The very next day, the City of Baton Rouge went to court and asked that Frampton be found “in contempt.” Frampton then filed suit in federal court, arguing that the City was retaliating against him for exercising his freedom of speech.

The federal judge agreed with Professor Frampton. In a scathing 92-page opinion, Judge deGravelles, of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, decided that:

[T]he overwhelming evidence in the case . . . shows the City/Parish acted in bad faith and in retaliation against the Professor for his issuance of a press release and Video which cast BRPD in a bad light.

In the course of the lawsuit, it came to light that it was the Baton Rouge Police Department itself that first released the video – the very thing that it was trying to imprison Frampton for doing. As a result, the judge stated: “The hypocrisy of the City/Parish’s position is astounding.”

The judge ordered the City to withdraw its contempt prosecution of Frampton, and allowed Frampton’s case against the City to proceed.

Attorney William Most Argues at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

On Monday, attorney William Most appeared at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, to argue on behalf of our client, Rodney Grant.

The case involves the Louisiana Department of Corrections’ pattern of holding thousands of inmates per year past their release dates. Read more about the case here: https://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/crime_police/article_eeb39b84-48f4-11ea-b66a-c3155f17c66a.html

Audio of the argument is below; Mr. Most appears at 14:40.

According to a vote by other lawyers, Most & Associates is among the New Orleans Top Lawyers in two categories.

Each year, New Orleans Magazine allows local attorneys to vote for the top lawyers in a variety of categories. According to the magazine, their methodology is the following:

The voting was open to all licensed attorneys in New Orleans. They were asked which attorney, other than themselves, they would recommend in the New Orleans area. Each attorney was allowed to recommend up to three colleagues in each given legal specialty. Once the online nominations were complete, each nominee was carefully evaluated on the basis of the survey results, the legitimacy of their license and their current standing with the State Bar Association of Louisiana. Attorneys who received the highest number of votes in each specialty are reflected in the following list.

This year, New Orleans lawyers voted Most & Associates to be among the Top Lawyers in two categories: Labor & Employment, and Employee Benefits.

Thank you to all our colleagues who voted!

Most & Associates win $187,500 settlement in disability discrimination case against Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office

WBRZ reports on a recent victory by Most & Associates, in collaboration with Kerry Murphy Law. The WBRZ story explains:

RAPIDES PARISH - The Rapides Parish Sheriff's Office (RPSO) reprtedly settled a federal discrimination lawsuit for $187,500, according to a Monday news release from the law office of Most & Associates.  

The attorneys say a lawsuit was brought by the late Deputy Jerry McKinney, a former Army officer and a twenty-year veteran of RPSO, who suffered a stroke in late 2017.

After his stroke, Most & Associates says, Deputy McKinney was able to return to work, but did not pass his firearm recertification and RPSO moved him to a twelve-hour shift at the jail that did not require firearm certification.

But when those twelve-hour shifts caused health problems, Deputy McKinney's doctor recommended that his schedule be modified to eight-hour shifts.

The attorneys say though Warden Batiste agreed to move Deputy McKinney to an eight-hour job in the kitchen, when RPSO higher-ups found out, things changed and Deputy McKinney was ordered to return to a twelve-hour position.

Attorneys say McKinney was told that if he could not work twelve hours, he “should retire.”

When McKinney declined to retire and asked to be put in any eight-hour position anywhere in the sheriff’s office, RPSO fired him.

McKinney lost his job five days before Christmas, after two decades of service.

Deputy McKinney sued, alleging that his termination was a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act. 

In the course of the lawsuit, it was discovered that RPSO was out of compliance with the ADA. The office did not have an ADA coordinator, did not conduct any ADA training, and described employees requesting accommodations as “complainers,” according to attorneys.

Sadly, Deputy McKinney passed away while his case was ongoing, but his case was so strong that in the few days before trial, the Sheriff's Office agreed to pay his widow $187,500 as a settlement. 

The McKinneys are represented by a legal team made up of Kerry Murphy Law and Most & Associates.

New Orleans lawyers vote to name William Most on the 2021 Top Lawyers list for Employee Benefits Law & Labor and Employment Law

Each year, New Orleans Magazine asks all licensed attorneys in New Orleans to vote for which attorney, other than themselves, they would recommend in various practice areas.

This year, those attorneys voted to include William Most on the 2021 Top Lawyers list for Employee Benefits Law & Labor and Employment Law.

Thank you to all those who voted!

Victory in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Most & Associates, along with Lahti Helfgott LLC, represents Michael McClanahan, Gary Chambers, and Eugene Collins, three Black community leaders who were forcibly ejected from Baton Rouge city council meetings within seconds of saying the words “Alton Sterling,” criticizing the police, or even hinting that they were there to do so. It was a clear violation of their First Amendment right to free speech.

Shortly before trial, Defendant Scott Wilson, the former head of the Baton Rouge Metro Council, attempted to stop the case from going to trial. (Plaintiff’s trial brief is here.) First, he sought an emergency stay from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal. When that was rejected, he filed an appeal.

Today, the Fifth Circuit issued a judgment completely rejecting Defendant’s appeal. Most & Associates is proud to represent clients who are willing to fight to protect their constitutional rights from attack.

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U.S. DOJ Complaint About Baton Rouge Law Enforcement Abuses Features Work of Most & Associates

On July 28, 2021, the Promise of Justice Initiative (PJI), the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison Reform Coalition (EBRPPRC), and Decarcerate Louisiana asked the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice to “immediately launch an investigation into the illegal practices of the law enforcement agencies policing the parish, including the Baton Rouge Police Department, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, and the Louisiana State Police.”

Their complaint (available online here) is a damning compilation of Baton Rouge law enforcement misconduct spanning nearly sixty years, focusing on the serious abuses of the last few years and present day.
The complaint incorporates and builds on the work of our firm, as nearly a half dozen Most & Associates cases and projects are cited as evidence of the pattern of misconduct. They include:

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WWLTV Covers Most & Associates Lawsuit Against Louisiana State Police

This week, attorney Dave Lanser was featured on WWLTV regarding Most & Associate’s lawsuit against the Louisiana State Police for their violent crackdown on peaceful protesters in Baton Rouge. WWLTV reports that John Clary, a state trooper involved in the cover-up of the death of Ronald Greene, was also involved in the assault on Baton Rouge protesters.

Watch the video here:

https://www.wwltv.com/article/news/investigations/bodycam-footage-shows-a-veteran-state-trooper-may-not-have-been-truthful-in-ronald-greene-case/289-96ee83a4-3cd6-4c71-8635-8207d2b683f8

Judge Rules That Orleans Sheriff's Policy "Necessarily Results" In Overdetention

In Orleans Parish, after people were sentenced in court, the Sheriff had a policy that his staff would load the sentencing paperwork into a van and drive it to the DOC in Baton Rouge - but only once a week.

This week, the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled in a lawsuit brought by Most & Associates that the policy "necessarily results in the overdetention of inmates who are eligible for immediate release upon sentencing."

This is an important step towards holding the Sheriff and DOC accountable for the thousands of people who are held past their release dates in Louisiana each year.

Watch the WDSU coverage of the ruling here.

Read the court’s order here.

New York Times Highlights Work of Most & Associates

Today, Marie Fazio of the New York Times covered the work of Most & Associates, explaining that:

A former New Orleans police officer with a history of behavioral complaints who was dispatched to help a 14-year-old rape victim get medical attention last year later raped her himself, the girl’s mother claimed in a lawsuit.

After he took the girl to a hospital for evaluation, the officer, Rodney Vicknair, groomed the girl for months before he eventually sexually assaulted and raped her, according to the lawsuit, which was filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The piece quotes Most & Associates attorney Hope Phelps:

Hope A. Phelps, a lawyer representing the girl and her mother, said the lawsuit was intended to hold Mr. Vicknair accountable, as well as the New Orleans police for “sending him to the hospital that night.”

“For our client and her young daughter, it’s going to take years of counseling,” Ms. Phelps said. “This was very damaging to them emotionally, and they’re still suffering from it.”

Read the full story at: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/05/us/rodney-vicknair-new-orleans.html

Attorney David Lanser Calls Out NOPD's Pattern of Illegal Vehicle Chases

Today The Lens reported that the majority of 2019 NOPD officer vehicle pursuits violated both department policy and also a federal court order.

In one incident, five people were injured after NOPD officers chose to engage in an illegal vehicle chase - over suspected shoplifting. In another, three people died after officers turned off their cameras and then engaged in a chase they knew was illegal. Most & Associates represents the family of one of the children who died in that chase.

Attorney David Lanser of Most & Associates called out this repeated misconduct: "Either NOPD is failing to train and supervise its officers or the officers know they will not suffer consequences for breaking policy,” he said. “Or both.”

Read more here: https://thelensnola.org/2021/02/10/despite-nopd-policy-most-2019-police-vehicle-pursuits-occurred-in-response-to-non-violent-violations/

Law Office Sues Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office for Death of 16 Year Old Child With Severe Autism

We are proud to represent Dr. Donna Lou and Dr. Daren Parsa in suing the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office for the death of their only son, Eric Parsa.

One year ago, Eric experienced a meltdown caused by his severe autism in a Metairie parking lot. One JPSO deputy arrived and then others joined him, and together they subdued Eric. They did so by placing Eric facedown on the cement, sitting on him, and then handcuffing his hands behind his back.

But even after Eric was subdued - and according to the deputies, the situation “was calm, everything was fine” - the deputies failed to take their weight off Eric or roll him onto his side so he could breathe. One deputy and then another sat on Eric for a total of nine minutes and six seconds. They sat on Eric until he stopped breathing and died.

Dr. Lou and Dr. Parsa have shown enormous courage in telling Eric’s story. “Never did we ever think that our 16-year-old son with special needs would die in front of our eyes at this age and in the hands of law enforcement,” said Dr. Lou. They ask that Eric’s story be told so as to reduce the risk that any other family will lose a child the way they did.

You can read more about Eric’s story here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/us/eric-parsa-death-police.html

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/15/us/teenager-autism-dies-louisiana-sheriff-lawsuit-trnd/index.html

https://www.nola.com/news/crime_police/article_9e1b9612-569b-11eb-84db-cb6250a14479.html

After Law Office of William Most Uncovers Pattern of Louisiana Overdetention, U.S. Department of Justice Announces State-Wide Investigation

After a series of lawsuits brought by the Law Office of William Most and co-counsel, the U.S. Department of Justice announced this week that it has "opened a statewide civil investigation into Louisiana’s prisoner release practices." The investigation is a joint effort of the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana.

The U.S. DOJ says it "will examine the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections’ policies and practices for ensuring the timely release of state prisoners in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Corrections who are incarcerated in state and local correctional facilities, including practices related to prisoners who are eligible for immediate release."

On WWL-TV, attorney William Most pointed out that the result of the DOC’s mismanagement is: “‘Missed holidays, missed birthdays, missed Christmases, missed Thanksgivings, family time that these people will never get back.”

Watch the WWL-TV coverage here.

Victory in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Our team, in collaboration with Casey Denson Law, won an important victory in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. The case is Ellis Ray Hicks v. Department of Public Safety & Corrections, and involves a Louisiana man who was held in prison at least 60 days past his court-ordered release date. In a recorded phone call, a prison official was caught on tape explaining why - because he believed “judges have no say whatsoever to us applying our time comp laws.” He also said “anyone who messes with me gets more time.”

The Court of Appeal held that the described conduct was “objectively unreasonable“ and so denied qualified immunity to the prison official.

The court also made clear that Secretary LeBlanc, the head of the Louisiana Department of Corrections, could be held liable for the “failure to process a prisoner’s release or immediately compute an inmate’s sentence after being sentenced to time served” - which is the exact subject of several of our other cases.

You can read the full opinion here.

First Amendment Victory in the Louisiana Supreme Court

In an amicus brief before the Louisiana Supreme Court, the Law Office of William Most represented the Marion B. Brechner First Amendment Project, the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment, and Professor Eugene Volokh. The brief was filed in Donald Logan v. State of Louisiana, a case brought by an inmate who had been denied access to the records that would show whether he was convicted by means of an unconstitutional non-unanimous jury verdict.

Our clients argued pointed out that the “public has a common-law and First Amendment right to inspect and copy judicial records” and argued that the “search for truth in [Mr. Logan’s case] would be advanced by the right of access to court records here.”

Today, the Louisiana Supreme Court agreed, ordering that Mr. Logan be granted access to his court records. It is an important First Amendment victory, and one we are proud to have helped with.

Read the Court’s opinion here: https://www.lasc.org/Opinions/2020/19-1911.KH.PC.pdf

Victory Against Uber in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

William Most, in his capacity as Of Counsel to the ATA Law Group, represents four clients who are suing Uber for its refusal to provide wheelchair-accessible vehicles in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Jackson, Mississippi.

Uber appealed a lower court decision to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, arguing that our clients did not have standing to sue under the Americans With Disabilities Act. Uber also argued that our clients should be forced into compliance with Uber’s arbitration agreement - even though our clients had never seen, signed, or agreed to those terms.

Today, in a unanimous opinion, the Court of Appeals denied every single one of Uber's arguments for why the case should not move forward.

“All I want is to take an Uber, just like everyone else. This ruling by the Ninth Circuit is a step in the direction of equality. Hopefully, Uber will do the right thing by offering wheelchair-accessible vehicles in New Orleans – just like Uber does in other cities.” 

–  Francis Falls, a plaintiff in Namisnak v. Uber 

Read the opinion here: https://www.publicjustice.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Namisnak-v.-Uber-9th-circuit-opinion.pdf