Federal appeals court hears New Orleans District Attorney efforts to overturn $14 million judgment

by Gwen Filosa, The Times-Picayune

The full U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Friday from the Orleans Parish district attorney's office, which protested a $14 million jury award to a former death row inmate after prosecutors hid evidence.

The court didn't indicate when it will rule. But Friday's hearing gave District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro one more chance to win a reversal of the award, which the jury in 2007 handed to John Thompson, who served nearly two decades in prison.

"This is the financial survival of the DA's office of Orleans Parish if we're not successful, " said Cannizzaro, who inherited the looming $14 million judgment when he won last fall's election. "It would be disastrous to us financially."

Although the initial prosecution came on the watch of a different DA, Cannizzaro's administration will have to pay the judgment if it's upheld. It would be a huge burden for the office, already saddled with the responsibility of paying off more than $2 million in loans that covered a civil rights judgment against former District Attorney Eddie Jordan.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in December affirmed the jury verdict, which awarded Thompson $14 million, which with interest and legal fees has grown by at least $1 million.

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/federal_appeals_court_hears_ne.html

Anyone familiar with how the 5th Circuit views important issues could predict this one.

The evidence in question was withheld in a previous trial in which he was convicted of armed robbery, unrelated to the murder trial. The evidence MAY have led to an acquittal.
Because he was convicted in that trial, he didn't testify in the murder trial, a right which he was arguably deprived of, but which didn't remotely guarantee he would be acquitted in the murder trial. The premise is that he didn't get a fair trial in the murder trial because he hadn't gotten a fair trial in the unrelated armed robbery trial.

He should be glad he's out of prison. The fact he was acquitted in 2003 is not a measure of his innocence. It's exceedingly hard to prosecute something that far down the road. AT 18 years in prison, he has served more than many have for the same crime. I can't see awarding him $14 million dollars in this situation.

This man has not been proven innocent. There was enough to convict him in 1985. It's hard to imagine how his testimony would have changed that.