Class-Action Lawsuit Filed to Stop State from Knowingly Imprisoning Thousands of People Beyond Their Court-Ordered Sentences
NEW ORLEANS, La. – A class action lawsuit was filed on Friday against the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections and its head, Secretary James LeBlanc, seeking to end the Department’s practice of overdetaining thousands of Louisianans each year in prisons and jails well past their legal release dates. This suit was filed by the Promise of Justice Initiative, Most & Associates, and Loevy & Loevy.
Joel Giroir, the named plaintiff in this litigation, was eligible for release on the day he was sentenced by a judge on January 26, but as of the date this lawsuit was filed, February 19, he was still in jail. Mr. Giroir’s family and friends have been calling the jail and Department of Corrections officials daily, trying to secure the freedom to which he is legally entitled. His girlfriend, Ashlee Hammond, said “I can only imagine how bad it is for families who don’t realize they need to fight this. This system is flawed and needs to be fixed.”
Secretary LeBlanc has known about the effects of this bureaucratic incompetence for many years, but has failed to make any meaningful improvements. A study was conducted as early as 2012 revealing rampant overdetention throughout the state—thousands of people each year were being imprisoned beyond their court-ordered sentences. Additional data in 2017 and 2019 revealed that the problem persists unchecked and is costing the state an extra $2.8 million per year in housing costs alone.
Promise of Justice Executive Director Mercedes Montagnes said. “There’s no excuse at this point. The DOC has admitted that overdetention is a big problem in Louisiana, but they’ve made no real effort to fix it.”
This is the second class action lawsuit this legal team has filed challenging overdetention in Louisiana. The first was filed in April of 2020—amidst the dangerous prison and jail conditions at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic—and seeks justice and compensation for people who were previously overdetained.
Caroline Gabriel, of Most & Associates, said “Internal investigations, individual lawsuits, and public pressure have failed to convince the Department of Corrections to stop holding thousands of people past their release dates each year. A court order is now needed.”
Stephen Weil of Loevy & Loevy, a Chicago-based law firm also representing the class, said, “Louisiana’s overdetention problem is uniquely severe. We aren’t aware of any other state that struggles with time calculation at this level, but the DOC seems content to impose punishment no court ever ordered, simply because it can’t be bothered to fix this glaring problem.”
The full complaint is available here.
Media Contact:
Rebecca Ramaswamy
Staff Attorney, The Promise of Justice Initiative
504-529-5955
RRamaswamy@defendla.org