|
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - A state judge suspended the criminal cases against nearly 100 people Monday over concerns they can't get adequate representation from the city's struggling indigent defenders office.
Judge Arthur Hunter Jr. halted prosecutions of 98 defendants and ordered the release of 20 who had been held in jail. Last month, he suspended prosecution for 42 other poor defendants.
The charges were not dropped, he told dozens of defendants in his court, but until they get lawyers they won't be prosecuted.
|