Criminal Justice Stakeholders Collaborate on Sharing Information - Press Release

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Criminal Justice Stakeholders Collaborate on Sharing Information 
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<div align="left" style="text-align:center;"><table style="width:100%;background-color:#428bca;"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td bgcolor="#428bca" height="21" valign="middle" width="100%"><div align="center"><strong><span style="color:#ffffff;">2024 Press Releases</span></strong> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><table width="16%" style="width:1112px;"><tbody><tr></tr></tbody></table></div><table style="width:100%;text-align:center;"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td width="82" style="text-align:left;width:71px;">CONTACT:&nbsp;</td><td width="253" style="text-align:left;width:1039px;">Trina S. Vincent<br />504-310-2590 </td></tr></tbody></table><div align="left" style="text-align:center;"><table style="width:100%;border-spacing:3px;background-color:#f7ebc6;"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td width="38%" style="text-align:left;"><span style="color:#212073;text-transform:uppercase;"><strong>August 13, 2024</strong></span> </td><td width="62%"><p align="right"><span style="color:#212073;"><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE</strong></span> </p></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong></strong>&nbsp;</p><p style="text-align:center;text-transform:uppercase;"><strong>Criminal Justice Stakeholders Collaborate on Sharing Information</strong></p><p>Today, with gratitude to the diligent efforts of Louisiana Department of Public Safety &amp; Corrections Secretary James M. LeBlanc and his staff, Louisiana Supreme Court Chief Justice John L. Weimer circulated to every Louisiana state judge with jurisdiction in criminal cases a &ldquo;bench book&rdquo; to use as a resource in sentencing decisions.&nbsp; Chief Justice Weimer stated, &ldquo;Because most incarcerated offenders will eventually be released, sentencing requirements during incarceration should be tailored&mdash;as much as possible&mdash;to reducing the likelihood of committing crimes after incarceration.&nbsp; The safety of our citizens requires this, and incarcerated offenders who can learn strategies to rid themselves of drug addiction or who develop new job skills are key groups who stand to benefit by later transforming themselves into productive members of society.&rdquo;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>The Louisiana Supreme Court has partnered with the Louisiana Department of Public Safety &amp; Corrections (DPS&amp;C), the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, and the Louisiana Public Defender Board and other stakeholders in the criminal justice system to promulgate information on services offered by DPS&amp;C to eligible incarcerated individuals designed to assist in their reentry into society after incarceration.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>What began as a request by DPS&amp;C Secretary LeBlanc to Chief Justice John L. Weimer to simply remind state judges of the minimum time frame to ensure successful completion of DPS&amp;C&rsquo;s drug treatment intensive incarceration program expanded into an initiative to ensure that state judges had current information at their fingertips about the myriad of available rehabilitation and treatment programs offered by DPS&amp;C.&nbsp; These include programs offered across the state at different correctional facilities, both for men and women, such as substance abuse treatment programs, reentry court programs, transitional work programs, and Young Adult Programs.&nbsp; Information prepared and updated by Secretary LeBlanc was reviewed by a working group of judges as well as representatives of district attorneys, public defenders, and law enforcement.&nbsp; The end product is a &ldquo;bench book&rdquo; provided to state judges as a resource that can be used in sentencing decisions.</p><p>Governor Jeff Landry&rsquo;s administration fully supported the creation of this bench book for our judges and other criminal justice stakeholders across our State, which is another successful step towards fully realizing improvements within our criminal justice system.&nbsp; Governor Landry commends DPS&amp;C, the Louisiana Judiciary, and the other vital criminal justice stakeholders who have been putting in the hard work, and this bench book is an excellent new resource towards moving Louisiana forward towards a more prosperous future.<br /></p><p>Chief Justice Weimer remarked, &ldquo;This demonstrates that when those of us in public service work together, the public benefits.&nbsp; That is something I have strived to do since becoming Chief Justice, specifically, partnering with other public officials in matters of mutual interest to benefit the public that we serve.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /></p><p>In addition to Chief Justice Weimer and Secretary LeBlanc, participating in this collaborative effort were 22nd JDC Judge William Burris, chair of the Louisiana District Judges Association/Department of Corrections Liaison Committee and several committee members; Loren Lampert, past Executive Director, Louisiana District Attorneys Association (and now a judge); and Louisiana Public Defender R&eacute;my Starns.&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /></p><p>According to Chief Justice Weimer, &ldquo;The aim here was to broadly share this information with stakeholders in the criminal justice system.&nbsp; This bench book serves as a guide for judges to choose the programs that are most effective for the particular circumstances of each offender. The larger goal is, whenever possible, to end the cycle of release, re-arrest, and re-incarceration and instead rehabilitate offenders into productive tax-paying citizens.&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /></p><p>Chief Justice Weimer concluded, &ldquo;I thank Secretary LeBlanc, Judge William Burris and judges from the Louisiana District Judges Association, as well as Loren Lampert, and R&eacute;my Starns for participating in this important project that hopefully in the long run will benefit our citizens by improving public safety.&rdquo;</p><p>A <a href="https://doc.louisiana.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DPSCBench-Book.v1.7.1.2024-FINAL.pdf" target="_blank">copy of the bench book</a> can be found on the website of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.</p><p><em><strong>Louisiana Supreme Court Mission:</strong> To preserve the integrity of the judiciary, to build and maintain public trust, to provide effective and efficient administration of justice in the Supreme Court, to ensure proper administration and performance of all courts under Supreme Court authority, and to ensure the highest professional conduct, integrity, and competence of the bench and bar.</em></p><p><strong>For more information visit <a href="/">lasc.org</a> or contact Louisiana Supreme Court Public Information Specialist/Coordinator Trina S. Vincent at <a href="mailto:tvincent@lasc.org">tvincent@lasc.org</a> or (504) 310-2590.</strong> </p><p style="text-align:center;"><strong>-30-</strong></p><p>&nbsp;</p>
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