Times-Picayune

Agreed: DA's office needs fixing

September 15, 2008

By Laura Maggi

Agreeing that the criminal justice system needs substantive change, the four candidates for Orleans Parish district attorney at a forum Monday night tried to distinguish themselves as the best-suited to transform what many regard as a dysfunctional office into one that effectively prosecutes serious crimes.

Each of the candidates claimed to be prepared to target violent crime and put murderers and armed robbers behind bars. Many similarities emerged on the policy issues: All vowed to improve the often-fractious relationship with the New Orleans Police Department; all support the creation of more specialized units to handle different kinds of cases, from sex crimes to public corruption; all pledged to provide better management for an office with an $11 million budget and 200-employee staff.

Instead of finding substantial differences on the issues, the candidates repeatedly returned to how their attributes best qualify them for the job during the forum at Loyola University sponsored by a collection of community groups less than three weeks before the Oct. 4 primary. An expected runoff of the top two vote-getters will be held in November.

A sense of place

Former Judge Leon Cannizzaro, who served on the bench at Criminal District Court for almost two decades, emphasized his longtime service in the historic courthouse at Tulane Avenue and South Broad Street.

"The district attorney plies his trade at Tulane and Broad and no place else, " Cannizzaro said, highlighting improvements he brought to the court, from programs for drug offenders to computer systems.

Ralph Capitelli, a longtime defense attorney who started his career at the Orleans Parish district attorney's office, repeatedly stressed his management skills, saying he can handle running what is essentially one of the largest law firms in the state. Capitelli noted that he is the only candidate who served as first assistant district attorney, a position he assumed under former DA Harry Connick in the 1970s.

"I have the unique combination of experience in criminal law and management skills to do this job in this difficult time, " he said.

Specialized skills

Former federal prosecutor Linda Bizzarro, who also started her career in the district attorney's office in the 1970s, emphasized that she is the only career prosecutor who is running for the position, saying she has specialized skills her opponents never developed when they stopped being prosecutors.

"I've worked with law enforcement and police. I've worked in grand juries, " Bizzarro said, noting both her 17 years as a federal prosecutor and a recent 10-month stint helping the DA's office recover evidence after Hurricane Katrina. "I've done many things that they cannot and have not done."

As the youngest candidate and the only one never to work as a prosecutor, defense attorney Jason Williams repeatedly stressed that he is not a product of any recent DA's office, and said he will bring fresh ideas to an office mired in old ways. At the same time, he emphasized his knowledge of the local criminal justice system, saying he has toiled daily for the past 11 years at Tulane and Broad.

"I am young. I am foolish enough to believe that modern forensics and technology can help us win cases, " Williams said.

Low-grade attacks

The candidates kept the barbs mostly low-key, with Williams and Capitelli offering the most direct attacks on their challengers.

Williams repeatedly tried to paint the other candidates as products of a failed system. During a question about the finances of the DA's office by moderator Bob Brown, managing director of the Business Council of New Orleans, Williams said he plans to hire a team of grant writers, adding, "which none of these guys did when they were there over the past 20 years."

Capitelli countered that he did in fact bring in an important grant during his tenure as first assistant. He said he received federal money to establish the office's first division targeting career criminals.

For his part, Capitelli offered a veiled reference targeted at Cannizzaro. In his response to a question about the new independent police monitor, Capitelli mentioned that he had never been sanctioned for an ethical violation.

"I think it is important that you ask every candidate up here to tell you about ethical violations, " he said. Cannizzaro was given a public censure by the Louisiana Supreme Court in 2005 for breaking the rules governing judicial campaign fundraising.

Cannizzaro did not counter, although during his opening remarks he suggested that experience as a prosecutor in the 1970s and 1980s, when both Capitelli and Bizzarro worked at the DA's office, doesn't apply to the current situation at criminal court.

"The drugs have changed. The crimes have changed, " he said. "As a judge at criminal court, I recognized the changes."

Bizzarro in her closing remarks jumped on Capitelli's ethics remark, noting that as a leader in the U.S. Department of Justice's counterterrorism efforts she has passed stringent background checks and was given the highest security clearance allowed.

The forum was sponsored by the Baptist Community Ministries, Citizens for 1 Greater New Orleans, Common Good, New Orleans Crime Coalition, Puentes, Safe Streets/Strong Communities, Urban League of Greater New Orleans and the Young Leadership Council.

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Laura Maggi can be reached at lmaggi@timespicayune.com or 504.826.3316.

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