Judge holds cases for lack of defense

A state judge suspended the criminal cases against 98 defendants in New Orleans over concerns they could not get adequate representation from the city’s office for defending the indigent. Judge Arthur Hunter Jr. also ordered the release of 20 prisoners.

The charges are not being dropped, he told dozens of defendants in his court, but until they get lawyers they won’t be prosecuted. For months, Hunter has been battling what he sees as the inability of the defenders’ office to adequately represent the city’s poor defendants since Hurricane Katrina wrecked the criminal justice system.