NNJCTF Gears Up for the Louisiana 2014 Legislative Session

On February 23rd, ten people braved the downpour to attend the Northshore New Jim Crow Task Force's first meeting of the year at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Lacombe. The group was very happy to welcome two new faces, and after introductions, Bonnie Schmidt opened the meeting with a review of recent activities in which members had participated, specifically the PICO-LA meeting in New Orleans and the Together Louisiana meeting in Baton Rouge. The focus of the meeting, however, was on upcoming legislation in the Louisiana legislature and on making our voices heard in the legislative process. Bonnie reminded the group that legislators have until February 28th to file legislation and that the 2014 session begins on March 10th. Although there are many bills worthy of attention, the NNJCTF is focusing on:

• Ban the Box for State Contracts Act (eliminating the felony conviction check-box on employment applications for certain state contractor jobs--HB 217, Smith)
• Reclassifying marijuana possession as a misdemeanor  and reducing mandatory sentencing for marijuana possession: HB 130, Honore; HB 14, Badon (At the time of this writing, the link to the bill of HB14 was incorrectly directed on the Legislature's website; the link here is to the digest or abstract of the bill.)

We hope that passage of these bills will be a step in reducing the high incarceration rates in Louisiana, will allow for fairer and more equal sentencing, and will help ex-offenders returning to the work force.

During the remainder of the meeting, the group discussed ways to communicate our concerns effectively. As part of that discussion, we viewed a Ted Talk by Omar Ahmad, an activist and former mayor of San Carlos, California (link here: http://www.ted.com/talks/omar_ahmad_political_change_with_pen_and_paper) and shared the personal experiences that motivated each of us to become involved in the grass roots movement of prison and sentencing reform.

It is very important that we, as citizens, become informed and active in the political process. Please let your legislators know how you stand on these bills--and others--by writing, e-mailing, or calling your legislators.

Useful links:

1. To find your Louisiana and U. S. Legislators: http://legis.la.gov/Legis/FindMyLegislators.aspx
2. To find links that will direct you to the web page of your state senator and contact information: http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Bios.aspx?cid=S
3. To find links that will direct you to the web page of your representative and contact information: http://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Bios.aspx?cid=H 
4.  To access an index of House and Senate numbered bills: http://legis.la.gov/legisdocs/billindex/14RSbillindex.pdf
5. To follow the Louisiana House of Representatives on Twitter: https://twitter.com/louisianahouse/
6. To follow the State Legislature on Twitter: https://twitter.com/lalegis

November 24th New Jim Crow Task Force Meeting

Nineteen people people participated in the meeting of the North Shore New Jim Crow Task Force on Sunday, November 24, 2013, at the Northshore Unitarian Universalist church in Lacombe, LA. Among the participants were visitors from Ohio, formerly incarcerated people who spoke of their experiences, religious leaders, a local criminal defense lawyer, representatives of local organizations, members of the North Shore Unitarian Universalist Society, and regularly attending task force members.

Bonnie Schmidt opened the meeting with a few words about the task force's mission, and then Ann Porter gave the group some background description on the musical group, The Shiv, based at Southeastern in Hammond, LA. The group's You-Tube version of the song "New Jim Crow" was then played as an introduction to the meeting, as it highlights Louisiana's drug/prison system.

A local criminal defense lawyer then provided the group with legal information and background on federal and state drug laws. He explained some of the typical sentencing for scheduled drug offenses and the inequity of those sentences compared to the sentencing for DWI convictions. He also described some of the differences between the state and federal judicial systems, noting how sentencing in federal courts depends on "criminal points" the suspect may or may not have accrued from prior convictions. In addition, he spent some time explaining jury trials in Louisiana and the role of district attorneys in St. Tammany parish specifically. At the close of his talk, the criminal defense attorney fielded questions from the audience.

The meeting was wrapped up with two brief presentations from task force members Anita Dugat-Greene and Ann Porter. Anita showed the participants the task force's new blog, Equal Justice Louisiana, which she is currently maintaining for the group. Ann Porter described the exciting possibilities of having the Pelican Institute for Public Policy and the American Civil Liberties Union co-sponsor in our area a forum on criminal justice reform, much like the panel discussion that took place in Lafayette, LA, on November 13th at South Louisiana Community College. The Abita Springs Town Hall was suggested as a possible venue for such a program.

The next meeting of the North Shore New Jim Crow Task Force will be scheduled in January of 2014.