Criminal Justice Committee Meeting – March 30, 2026: Quarterly Updates from Courts, Sheriff, DA, NOPD, and IPM
Criminal Justice Committee Meeting – March 30, 2026
The New Orleans City Council Criminal Justice Committee held its second quarterly meeting of 2026 on March 30, 2026. The meeting featured presentations from Orleans Parish Criminal Court, Juvenile Court, the Juvenile Justice Intervention Center (JJIC), the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO), the Clerk of Criminal Court, the District Attorney’s Office, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), and the Office of the Independent Police Monitor (OIPM). A working group introduced a “10 Pillars of a Thriving Community” framework to address root causes of crime. Public comments highlighted concerns about police accountability, victim advocacy, and racial disparities. No formal votes were taken beyond approving the previous meeting’s minutes.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: Councilmember Morell moved to approve the minutes from the last meeting, seconded by Councilmember Harris, and passed unanimously (voice vote).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Bert Lodrig (3438 Annette Street): Commented on the location of the juvenile jail on Bayou St. John, calling it a misuse of prime real estate, and questioned the Orleans Parish School Board’s plans for McDonogh 35 (Councilmember Green clarified there is no plan to close the school).
- Shantae Scott (mother of Jace Scott, murdered in 2019 by NOPD officer’s son): Expressed frustration with the lack of accountability from NOPD and the DA’s office, and called for a review of her son’s case. Her comments were ruled not germane to the current topic and she was cut off.
- Tony Jones (2111 Dumaine Street): Criticized Sheriff Hudson’s record, citing the 2022 jail uprising and alleged unequal treatment of black youth by NOPD. He urged the council to investigate NOPD Officer Victor Gantt.
- Antonia Maher (2522 La Harp Street): Praised OPSO’s non-cooperation with ICE but raised concerns about overcrowding, long pretrial detention, and lack of communication for families. She linked these issues to the Scott case.
- Genevieve Dylan (1631 Marigny Street): Spoke about the murder of friend Richie Smith and criticized the DA’s office for handling of the case. She also called for investigation of NOPD corruption and payroll fraud.
- Sion Coleman (father of Junius Coleman, ruled suicide in 2022): Alleged his son’s death was a staged murder and that NOPD and the coroner’s office mishandled the case.
- Mr. Batista (public comment on NOPD): Accused Inspector General of violating the police bill of rights and claimed double standards in disciplinary actions against black vs. white officers.
Discussion Items
- Orleans Parish Criminal Court (Chief Judge Juana Lombard): Reported maintaining normal operations despite budget cuts. In 2024, the court conducted 153 felony jury trials (27% of state total), with 26 murder trials. In 2025, preliminary numbers show 137 trials (24% of state). The court has 1,100 defendants per week, 8,400 arrests, 29,000 charges. The new case management system (CMS) went live, but data conversion with the sheriff’s Beacon system is incomplete. Facility upgrades: wind retrofit project (285 windows) nearly complete; jury renovation project halted due to city pulling bond money. Several bathrooms and elevators are out of service due to lack of capital funding. Councilmember Green noted that Orleans Parish handles a disproportionate share of felony trials compared to other parishes.
- Orleans Parish Juvenile Court (Chief Judge Candace Bates Anderson): The court’s 2026 operating budget is $3.07 million, a reduction of $342,437, forcing elimination of eight positions. Four more vacancies are unfilled due to a hiring freeze. The court handled 8,582 cases in 2025 (including 6,042 delinquency, 1,822 child in need of care). Judicial workload is far higher than case filings suggest because each case generates multiple hearings. Senate Bill 217 and House Bill 911 propose restructuring Orleans courts, potentially consolidating or eliminating the juvenile court. Councilmember Green criticized the legislators for not visiting the courts before sponsoring the bills.
- 10 Pillars of a Thriving Community (Dr. Rainman Delaney, Dr. Ashraf Ismail, Dr. Heidi Coleman, Katina Wharton, Bryson Shelton): Presented an introduction to the framework, focusing on economic stability, housing, youth development, mental health, trustworthy policing, and access to services. Key statistics: 50% of New Orleans renters are cost-burdened; 1 in 7 youth aged 16-24 are disconnected from school and work; 64% of incarcerated individuals have a mental health condition; suicide is the third leading cause of death for ages 10-24. The committee plans to dedicate future meetings to each pillar.
- Juvenile Justice Intervention Center (Dashell Williams): In Q1 2026, JJIC admitted 84 youth, discharged 86, and had zero critical incidents. Average age: 15. 89% male, 92% Black. The facility is in critical condition: chillers need replacement ($500,000), 68 cameras are out, and grinder pumps for the septic system require replacement. Programming with Ubuntu Village provides 30+ hours per week of structured activities. Councilmember Green encouraged applying for state capital outlay funds.
- Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (Sheriff Susan Hudson): Jail population on March 30, 2026, was 1,276 (1,126 pretrial, 150 sentenced). 260 cells renovated in high-security units. OPSO secured a $125,000 state allocation for domestic violence services. Sheriff Hudson acknowledged the upcoming transition to Sheriff-Elect Michelle Woofer, with weekly meetings underway. Opioid clinic and re-entry hub are in development. 49 Travis Hill School students earned diplomas. Councilmember Green highlighted the state’s responsibility for the 150 inmates who should be in state custody, costing the city about $4,000/month each.
- Clerk of Criminal Court (representative): Requested assistance to fill critical vacant positions, funding to remediate documents recovered from a landfill, and access to promised city expungement funds. The office received $50,000 from the state for expungements but needs additional city funds.
- District Attorney’s Office (DA Jason Williams, Chief Matt Derbys, Chief Keith Lampkin): Reported historic reductions in violent crime: armed robberies down 70%, murders down 55%, non-fatal shootings down 61% (2022–2025). The “No Dice” place-based strategy has reduced gun violence by up to 80% in targeted areas. The homicide unit maintains a high conviction rate, using vertical prosecution from arrest to trial. The DA’s office faces a 30% budget cut in 2026, eliminating 20 positions, reducing overtime, and limiting resources. The office embedded prosecutors in NOPD districts to improve case screening. Councilmember Green requested focus on the intersection of Algiers-Meyer and Johnny Jackson Boulevard.
- NOPD (Superintendent): Updated on: 18 permanent barriers for Bourbon Street and Jackson Square (funding needed from bonds); transfer of parking and tow functions from DPW (expected May 2026); discontinuation of ShotSpotter pilot; new contract with Sigma Square for cold case analysis. Staffing: 895 sworn officers, 1,274 total staff. Training classes: 27 graduated in Class 206, 28 in Class 207, new class of 18 starting. Recruitment increased 77% after using Indeed platform. Overtime managed within $23 million budget ($6.4 million spent in Q1). Facility needs: property and evidence building, academy upgrades, restroom issues in districts, crime lab renovation ($10 million requested).
- Office of the Independent Police Monitor (Stella Ciment, Chriselle Williams): Reported 105 complaints of officer misconduct in 2026 (surpassing 2025’s total of 88), largely related to facial recognition usage. The office provides mediation services (7 mediations held in 2026) and a new community conflict mediation program. They sponsor a Constitutional Policing Award for recruits. The IPM’s four-year term ends in 2026; she has requested reappointment. An RFP for general counsel is open. Councilmember Green sought clarification on the 105 complaints, noting many are not sustained.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken on any agenda items; presentations were informational.
- Councilmember Green directed the DA’s No Dice team to focus on the intersection of Algiers-Meyer and Johnny Jackson Boulevard to address criminal activity before a new school opens in August.
- NOPD will proceed with the transfer of parking/tow functions from DPW, pending council ordinance changes.
- OIPM will continue to expand its community mediation program and collaborate with the 10 Pillars working group.
- The committee will adopt the 10 Pillars framework for future meetings, dedicating each session to one pillar.
- Councilmember Green committed to working with the state to secure more resources for the city’s criminal justice agencies, particularly for capital projects and inmate transfers.
Meeting Transcript
Councilmember Morell. Councilmember Harris. Councilmember Green. Councilmember Hughes. We have three members. We have a quorum. All right. Can we do the uh approve the minutes from last meeting? I make a motion to approve. Second by Councilmember Harris. Councilmember Cream. Aye. All right. All right. Approve the meetings. Minutes from last meeting. All right, good morning, everyone. We're going to start our criminal justice meeting for March 30th, 2026. It's our second meeting of the year. Um, we're gonna go a little out of order to respect the time of our criminal court judges who are present and have to be back in court. So we're gonna exit our pre our first presentation be made by the Orleans Parish Criminal Court judges, led by Chief Judge Juana Lombard. Pass me my glasses, please. She got them in the first. Okay. Good morning, council members. Thank you so much for taking us first, and thank you so much for taking your time out of our busy days to uh listen to the court's presentation. At this time, uh criminal court has managed to maintain normal operations as you're well aware. Oh, I'm sorry. Juanamarine Lombard, Chief Judge, and Magistrate Judge for Criminal District Court. I am here with Kimya Holmes, the deputy chief of criminal district court, Rob Kasich, our judicial administrator, and Shannon Sims, our deputy judicial administrator. And again, thank you all for having us here this morning. Uh at this time through the first quarter, as you're aware, we were cut um like many other agencies last year. At this time, the court has managed to maintain normal court operations and to keep all of our services and pretrial programs running, including the specialty courts, our domestic violence program, our mental health court, our drug court, our re-entry program, and our veterans' affairs program, as well as our rise after release program. Um again, that might be something we come back at later in the year to talk about, but at this time we have managed to maintain normal court operations on our more limited budget. Um we have instituted the case management system that we talked about for a long time. It went live in mid-November. We are in the middle of the data conversion still. The beacon system from the sheriff's office has not gone live yet. The two systems were designed to talk to each other. So for the past couple months, we have been kind of operating in a bifurcated system where the sheriff is still in AS400, and we are in CMS. It has caused some hiccups that we work through daily, and hopefully when Beacon goes live, we will have more accurate numbers, a more uh transparent system, and the two systems will communicate better, which will reduce the man hours that it is taking right now from the clerk and the sheriff's office. Um judge, there's a lot of sound like feedback coming from your mic. No, I don't know if uh we can have somebody from the staff correct that, but it's am I the only one hearing that? No, you need to no further back. No, that's I don't know, but maybe if we have somebody from the A V department eventually come and check it out, but go ahead. Maybe I'll turn it and just project. Can y'all hear me if I don't know? We can hear you, but it's I to hear this all day long. It may it may be a bit problem. So let me turn mine off.
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