I was cutting my grass, listening to the First Thursday podcast. The First Thursday podcast is hosted by Will Aitchison. Once a month, Will talks about legal issues from around the country that impact law enforcement. Will runs the Labor Relations Information System which tracks issues related to collective bargaining and discipline for law enforcement and fire personnel. Will is widely respected and I like to listen to his podcast every month. Will also wrote The Rights of Law Enforcement Officers, which is a fantastic book on many of the issues we attorneys deal with regularly here in New Orleans. I have had the opportunity to meet Will and hear him speak. I am comfortable saying that Will knows what he is talking about.

At about 45:00 into the July First Thursday podcast, Will started talking about a case involving Sgt. Willie Jenkins. I knew that case at once. It was one that Ted and Claude won. The win got Willie 5 days of pay back. We really win more than we should, statistically speaking.

Click here for the Civil Service Commission’s decision related to Sgt. Willie Jenkins. Willie was represented by Claude Schlesinger and Ted Alpaugh.

Click here for the Civil Service Commission’s decision related to Sgt. Joe Davis. I represented Sgt. Davis. Joe got 10 days back as a result of this appeal. That’s 2 weeks of pay.

The NOPD appealed the Civil Service Commission’s decisions in both cases to the Louisiana 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Click here for the decision from the La. 4th Circuit Court of Appeal as it relates to Sgt. Willie Jenkins. Ted and Claude represented Willie.

Click here for the La. 4th Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision as it relates to Sgt. Joe Davis. I represented Joe again.

You can also listen to what Will has to say about Sgt. Jenkins’ case at the 45-minute mark of the July First Thursday podcast.

Civil Service is one good reason to continue employment with the New Orleans Police Department. Civil Service decisions can be found here.

UPDATE: 7/13/2022

In a decision about what constitutes a strip search and/or a body cavity church, the New Orleans Civil Service Commission granted Sgt. Morrison’s appeal (5 out of 6 charges). The 4th Circuit agreed, stating that NOPD’s definition required that someone perform a visual and/or physical inspection. The evidence, to the contrary, did not indicate there was evidence a strip search occurred. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision is here.

UPDATE: 7/20/2022

The New Orleans Civil Service Commission granted this officer’s appeal because the NOPD exceeded the time limits found in La. R.S. 40:25431(B)(7) and, therefore, La. R.S. 40:2531(C) required the discipline to be declared an absolute nullity. The 4th Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the Civil Service Commission in the decision found here.

UPDATE 7/21/2022

Click here to see the New Orleans Civil Service Commission’s decision in the appeal of Sgt. Kevin Thompson v. NOPD.