My name is Joshua. NRA Member in New Orleans, La
Ben Willard is the Judge in all Cases
New Orleans Criminal Court Disctrict C
My old apartment was burglarized August 2013 and among other things my legally obtained Saiga Ak74 was stolen. I lived off street in a good neighborhood and didn’t think twice about leaving it out for cleaning before returning it to the safe.
The perpetrator was caught and pled guilty to stolen property.
I’ve filed 2 motions to release property (the paperwork is poorly worded and seems to be geared towards defendants not victims).Every motion states that the District Attorney has 2 weeks to SHOW CAUSE THAT PROPERTY SHOULD NOT BE RETURNED.
I came back both times only to have the DA say they didn’t have enough information. I asked the DA what they needed to release my firearm. They said I needed to contact the coroner to clear the firearm of any attachments. It was my impression the reason for the two-week time span between the motion filing and the court date was so they could do their job and contact the coroner and other investigating officers. At this point I am commuting 2 hrs to New Orleans with my infant son for court.
At the end of second court date the Judge subpoenaed me to appear in court. I’m not sure why.
September 14th 2014:
At the subpoena hearing the DA had contacted the previous owner of my firearm and proper authorities including the coroner. THE DA STATED THAT THE STATE HAD NO REASON TO HOLD THE FIREARM AND ENTERED NO OPINION.
THE JUDGE SAID BECAUSE IT WAS AN ASSAULT RIFLE HE DIDN’T FEEL COMFORTABLE RELEASING THE FIREARM!
He went on to state “IF YOU FEEL I HAVE ABUSED MY AUTHORITY YOU CAN TAKE IT UP WITH APPEALS COURT”
I have found that most Lawyers are wary of filing complaints to the Judicial Council lest they find themselves in front of the same bad judge in the future.
Is there a deadline for appeals? What is the cost of appeals? What forms do I need and do they need to filed by a lawyer?
Ben Willard is the Judge in all Cases
New Orleans Criminal Court Disctrict C
My old apartment was burglarized August 2013 and among other things my legally obtained Saiga Ak74 was stolen. I lived off street in a good neighborhood and didn’t think twice about leaving it out for cleaning before returning it to the safe.
The perpetrator was caught and pled guilty to stolen property.
I’ve filed 2 motions to release property (the paperwork is poorly worded and seems to be geared towards defendants not victims).Every motion states that the District Attorney has 2 weeks to SHOW CAUSE THAT PROPERTY SHOULD NOT BE RETURNED.
I came back both times only to have the DA say they didn’t have enough information. I asked the DA what they needed to release my firearm. They said I needed to contact the coroner to clear the firearm of any attachments. It was my impression the reason for the two-week time span between the motion filing and the court date was so they could do their job and contact the coroner and other investigating officers. At this point I am commuting 2 hrs to New Orleans with my infant son for court.
At the end of second court date the Judge subpoenaed me to appear in court. I’m not sure why.
September 14th 2014:
At the subpoena hearing the DA had contacted the previous owner of my firearm and proper authorities including the coroner. THE DA STATED THAT THE STATE HAD NO REASON TO HOLD THE FIREARM AND ENTERED NO OPINION.
THE JUDGE SAID BECAUSE IT WAS AN ASSAULT RIFLE HE DIDN’T FEEL COMFORTABLE RELEASING THE FIREARM!
He went on to state “IF YOU FEEL I HAVE ABUSED MY AUTHORITY YOU CAN TAKE IT UP WITH APPEALS COURT”
I have found that most Lawyers are wary of filing complaints to the Judicial Council lest they find themselves in front of the same bad judge in the future.
Is there a deadline for appeals? What is the cost of appeals? What forms do I need and do they need to filed by a lawyer?