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Case Name
Yarls v. Bunton
PD-LA-0006
Docket / Court
3:16-cv-00031-JJB-RLB ( M.D. La. )
State/Territory
Louisiana
Case Type(s)
Indigent Defense
Attorney Organization
ACLU Affiliates (any)
ACLU National (all projects)
Case Summary
On January 14, 2016, arrestees in New Orleans who were declared eligible to receive appointed counsel from the Orleans Parish Public Defender’s Office (OPD) but were placed on a waiting list, sued in a class action OPD and the Louisiana State Public Defender office under 42 U.S.C. §1983 for ...
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On January 14, 2016, arrestees in New Orleans who were declared eligible to receive appointed counsel from the Orleans Parish Public Defender’s Office (OPD) but were placed on a waiting list, sued in a class action OPD and the Louisiana State Public Defender office under 42 U.S.C. §1983 for violating their Sixth and Fourteenth Amendment rights. OPD’s refusal to represent plaintiffs meant that they remained in jail without counsel. Plaintiff class seeks attorney’s fees and a declaration that OPD’s placement of class members on a waiting list for an indefinite amount of time violates their constitutional rights to counsel, due process, and equal protection.
OPD refused to accept plaintiffs as clients due to budgetary shortages and excessive caseloads. After hearings in which OPD discussed its budgetary crisis in late 2015, the Chief District Defender announced it would start declining certain felony cases in mid-January of 2016. The withdrawals would occur at a defendant’s first appearance before the magistrate. Plaintiffs credit OPD’s situation to the State of Louisiana’s underfunding of its public defender system.
On June 15, 2016 the parties filed a joint motion for judgment granting final declaratory and partial injunctive relief. On October 27, 2016 the court sua sponte raised the issue of subject matter jurisdiction, giving both parties a chance to submit briefs addressing the issue. On January 31, 2017 the court (Judge James Brady) dismissed the case, citing grounds of federalism and comity. 231 F.Supp.3d 128.
On September 25, 2017 plaintiffs appealed to the Fifth Circuit. On October 4, 2018 the Fifth Circuit dismissed the case as moot because it found that since the appeal was filed, Louisiana lawmakers had reallocated funding for appointed counsel sufficient to render the waitlists for non-capital defendants nonexistent. 905 F.3d 905. This case is now closed.
Dan Hofman - 03/11/2016
Anna Brito - 03/10/2019
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Issues and Causes of Action
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Issues
Constitutional Clause
Assistance of counsel (6th Amendment)
Due Process
Equal Protection
Crowding
Crowding / caseload
General
Access to lawyers or judicial system
Staff (number, training, qualifications, wages)
Plaintiff Type
Private Plaintiff
Causes of Action
42 U.S.C. § 1983
Case Details
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Defendant(s)
Louisiana State Public Defenders
Orleans Parish Public Defenders
Plaintiff Description
Arrestees in New Orleans who were declared eligible to receive appointed counsel from the Orleans Parish Public Defender’s Office (OPD) but were placed on a waiting list for an indefinite amount of time.
Indexed Lawyer Organizations
ACLU Affiliates (any)
ACLU National (all projects)
Class action status sought
Yes
Class action status granted
No
Filed Pro Se
No
Prevailing Party
Defendant
Public Int. Lawyer
Yes
Nature of Relief
None
Source of Relief
None
Filed
01/14/2016
Case Ongoing
No
Related Cases
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Case Listing
PD-LA-0005
: Allen v. Edwards (State Court)
Additional Resources
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See this case
at CourtListener.com
(May provide additional documents and, for active cases, real-time alerts)
Yarls v. Bunton
ACLU
Date: January 12, 2016
By: ACLU
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Securing Reasonable Caseloads: Ethics and Law in Public Defense
Date: 2011
By: Norman Lefstein (Indiana University--Indianapolis Faculty)
Citation: (ABA 2011)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Justice Denied: America's Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel.
Date: Apr. 14, 2009
By: National Right to Counsel Committee (The Constitution Project)
Citation: National Right to Counsel Committee, Justice Denied: America's Continuing Neglect of Our Constitutional Right to Counsel (2009)
[ Detail ]
[ PDF ]
[ External Link ]
The Third Generation of Indigent Defense Litigation
New York University Review of Law and Social Change
Date: 2009
By: Cara Drinan (Columbus School of Law, Catholic University Faculty)
Citation: 33 N.Y.U. Rev. L. & Soc. Change 427 (2009)
[ Detail ]
[ External Link ]
Indigent Defense Reform: The Role of Systemic Litigation in Operationalizing the Gideon Right to Counsel
Date: May 7, 2007
By: Vidhya K. Reddy (Washington University in St. Louis Law Student)
[ Detail ]
[ PDF ]
Documents
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Court
Docket(s)
M.D. La.
02/06/2018
3:16-cv-31
PD-LA-0006-9000.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
General Documents
M.D. La.
01/14/2016
Class Action Complaint [ECF# 1]
PD-LA-0006-0001.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
M.D. La.
08/17/2016
Second Amended Class Action Complaint [ECF# 43]
PD-LA-0006-0002.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
M.D. La.
01/31/2017
Ruling Dismissing Case [ECF# 62]
(231 F.Supp.3d 128)
PD-LA-0006-0003.pdf
|
WESTLAW
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LEXIS
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Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
M.D. La.
09/25/2017
Notice of Plaintiffs' Appeal to USCA [ECF# 66]
PD-LA-0006-0004.pdf
|
Detail
Source: PACER [Public Access to Court Electronic Records]
U.S. Court of Appeals
10/04/2018
USCA Opinion Dismissing Appeal
(905 F.3d 905)
PD-LA-0006-0005.pdf
|
WESTLAW
|
LEXIS
|
Detail
Source: U.S. Court of Appeals website
People
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Judges
Brady, James J.
(M.D. La.)
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PD-LA-0006-0003 | PD-LA-0006-9000
Elrod, Jennifer Walker
(Fifth Circuit)
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PD-LA-0006-0005
Jolly, E. Grady
(Fifth Circuit)
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PD-LA-0006-0005
Willett, Don R.
(Fifth Circuit)
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PD-LA-0006-0005
Plaintiff's Lawyers
Buskey, Brandon
(New York)
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PD-LA-0006-0001 | PD-LA-0006-0002 | PD-LA-0006-0004 | PD-LA-0006-9000
Edwards, Ezekiel
(New York)
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PD-LA-0006-0001 | PD-LA-0006-0002 | PD-LA-0006-0004 | PD-LA-0006-9000
Hamilton, Bruce Warfield
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-0004 | PD-LA-0006-9000
Harrison, Justin Paul
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-9000
Lellelid, Anna
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-0001 | PD-LA-0006-0002 | PD-LA-0006-0004 | PD-LA-0006-9000
Quigley, William Patrick
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-0001 | PD-LA-0006-0002 | PD-LA-0006-0004 | PD-LA-0006-9000
Ratner, Emily Faye
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-0001 | PD-LA-0006-9000
Sirmon, Candice C.
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-0001 | PD-LA-0006-0002 | PD-LA-0006-9000
Defendant's Lawyers
Barriere, Jennifer Emily
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-9000
Broussard, Maggie A.
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-9000
Landis, John M.
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-9000
Schmidt, Justin B.
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-9000
Surprenant, Mark Christopher
(Louisiana)
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PD-LA-0006-9000
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