Four of Louisiana’s highest-profile district attorneys are
lending their support to a proposed constitutional amendment on the Nov. 6
ballot that would require juries in the state to return unanimous verdicts in
all felony cases – something every other state besides Oregon does, reported The Advocate.
Hillar Moore III, Paul Connick, James Stewart Sr. and Keith
Stutes, the district attorneys, respectively, for East Baton Rouge, Jefferson,
Caddo and Lafayette parishes, each told The Advocate this week that they have
decided to back the closely watched ballot measure.
They preside over four of the six busiest trial dockets
among Louisiana’s 42 judicial districts, records show.
Moore said he hopes changing the law will help restore
fractured confidence in the criminal justice system. Stewart, a retired judge,
called the proposed amendment an “opportunity to be on the right side of
history,” and noted that Louisiana already requires unanimous verdicts in
capital cases and for lesser felonies tried by six-person juries.
Stutes, whose jurisdiction includes Acadia and Vermilion
parishes along with Lafayette, offered a similar rationale for his endorsement.
“I simply think at this point in our history, it’s no longer
good for us to be one of only two states that are different than the rest of
the nation,” he said.
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