June 2024 – Sound Off Louisiana

As fired LSP Trooper Cavalier loses appeal to Fifth Circuit, former Lt. John Stelly, like Cavalier, faces a mandatory settlement conference on July 24 and must make formal settlement demand of LSP no later than 10 days before that conference.

Former LSP Trooper Carl Cavalier, whose appeal to the U. S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking reconsideration of U. S. Judge John deGravelles’ ruling enforcing his separation agreement with LSP was denied (i.e. deGravelles’ ruling was affirmed) on or around June 5, 2024.

In today’s Sound Off Louisiana feature, founder Robert Burns provides an update entailing former Louisiana State Police (LSP) Trooper Carl Cavalier and former LSP Lt. John Stelly, who is suing LSP for alleged reverse discrimination:

6/30/24: Burns provides update on Cavalier & Stelly.

Federal court filings which Burns references in the above video:

1. 6/27/24: Fifth Circuit affirming lower court’s ruling on Cavalier’s request for reconsideration (indicating Judge deGravelles did not abuse his discretion).

2. 4/25/24 & 6/3/24: application and approval of attorney to assist bankruptcy trustee (relative to Fifth Circuit resolution, resolution of conflicting attorney fees, etc.)

3. 6/10/24: Stelly witness and exhibit list for Stelly trial.

4. 6/14/24: LSP witness and exhibit list for Stelly trial.

5. 6/18/24: LSP’s Motion for Summary Judgment (with exhibits of deposition excerpts).

6. 6/18/24: LSP’s Motion to File Certain Exhibits of its Motion for Summary Judgment Under Seal.

7. 6/18//24: Stelly’s Motion to Exclude LSP’s Expert Witness and Report.

8. 6/18/24: LSP’s Motion to Exclude Stelly’s Expert Witness (Himself) and Andrew Broadway

9. 6/18/24: LSP’s Motion to Consider Whether Stelly’s Report (Exhibit “A”) of LSP’s Motion exclude Stelly’s testimony should be filed under seal.

10. 6/20/24: Orders granting LSP’s Motion for certain documents to be filed under seal.

11. 6/24/24: Order calling for Mandatory Settlement Conference on Stelly litigation 7/24/24 @ 2:00 p.m (along with mandatory demand for settlement demand from Stelly and LSP response).

12. 6/25/24: Stelly’s Opposition Memorandum to LSP’s Motion to Exclude Expert Witness.

13. 6/26/24: Stelly’s Opposition Memorandum to LSP’s Motion for Summary Judgment (along with excerpts of deposition of Major Donavan Archote, declaration of Carl Saizan, and excerpts of deposition of Kendrick L. Van Buren).

14. 6/28/24: Stelly’s Opposition to LSP’s efforts to file 18 exhibits associated with “Exhibit G” of its Motion for Summary Judgment under seal. (LSPC has designated those exhibits as “confidential”).

15. 6/28/24: LSP’s Motion for eight (8) of Stelly’s exhibits for his Opposition to Motion for Summary Judgment to be filed under seal.

16. 6/28/24: LSPC files Memorandum in Support of LSP’s Request to Seal.

17. 6/30/24: Stelly’s Opposition Memorandum to LSP’s Motion to Seal Exhibits in his Opposition to LSP’s Motion for Summary Judgment which LSPC has declared “confidential.”

18. 7/1/24: LSP’s reply reinforcing contention that Stelly should not be declared an expert witness on stats.

19. 7/1/24: LSP’s Reply Memo reinforcing its Motion for Summary Judgment.

20. 7/1/24: LSP’s Motion to Strike Exhibits Stelly filed in his Opposition Memorandum to LSP’s Motion for Summary Judgment.

Finally, regarding Burns’ reference to an article Stelly’s attorney presented to former Col. Lamar Davis during his deposition regarding a “policy for diversity,” click here to see that Louisiana Illuminator article of November 29, 2021.

Happy 4th of July everybody!

19th JDC Judge Moore denies State Police Commission’s efforts to toss St. Tammany Parish residents’ lawsuit asserting open meeting violation.

St. Tammany Parish residents prepare to discuss their courtroom victory in 19th JDC before Judge Richard “Chip” Moore at which the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC) failed in its efforts to have the lawsuit filed against the Members of the Commission tossed entailing an alleged open meetings violation.

When we published yesterday’s feature on St. George, at the end of the feature, we mentioned the fact that the litigation regarding the LSPC’s Peremptory Exception of No Cause of Action would be heard today (Monday, June 17, 2024) before 19th JDC Judge Richard “Chip” Moore. From yesterday’s feature:

Tomorrow (Monday, June 17, 2024) morning, we will be in court for the Defendants’ Peremptory Exception of No Cause of Action on the St. Tammany Parish citizens’ lawsuit against the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC).
Those residents contend that the Commission engaged in an “electronic meeting” in violation of Louisiana’s Open Meetings Laws.
They have also called upon Gov. Jeff Landry to seek Defendant LSPC Members’ resignations as a result of alleged violations of Louisiana’s Constitution, their Oaths of Office, and LSPC Rules.
On Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 2:32 p.m., we reached out to Gov. Landry’s office for comment on those citizens’ call for action on his part. Since their litigation also says the letter the LSPC mailed out gave the “unmistakable impression” that Gov. Jeff Landry opposed the candidacy of Collin Sims for District Attorney in St. Tammany Parish, we asked Gov. Landry point-blank if he in fact did oppose Sims’ candidacy.
Quite frankly, we expected a reply back from Landry’s Office emphatically denying any such proclivity on Landry’s part that he opposed Sims’ candidacy. Instead, Landry’s Office chose not to respond to our inquiry, which makes us wonder if the Plaintiffs’ contention in their litigation regarding Gov. Jeff Landry and whose side he was on in the St. Tammany Parish District Attorney race may just in fact be accurate.
Whatever the case on Gov. Landry, we’ll report upon how tomorrow’s Court hearing turns out.

At this time, we provide the following video in which the Plaintiffs in that litigation share just how everything went at today’s court hearing:

6/17/24: Plaintiffs discuss their win over LSPC during the 19th JDC Court Hearing earlier on that day.

Parker-Brown indicated in the video above that the discovery phase of the litigation will now commence. She further stated that, just as was asserted in Plaintiffs’ Opposition Memorandum, one of the first items sought will be a Request for Production of Documents. That request will focus on all emails applicable for any correspondence of the matter of that infamous January 20, 2024 letter from the LSPC Members to the Collin Sims campaign.

We commit that, once we’re provided with access to any such emails, we will make them public via publication to all visitors to this website. Somehow, we think they just may be quite informative regarding just what all went down in this particular episode.

St. George Interim Mayor Dustin Yates: “I was not appointed to start a school system;” stresses need for patience during transition to 5th largest city in Louisiana.

City of St. George Interim Mayor Dustin Yates.

Well, it has been six (6) years since our feature wherein the then-proposed City of St. George organizers voiced extreme frustration with East Baton Rouge Parish (EBRP) officials.

It has certainly been a tough road, during which one petition was deemed to have just shy of the number of required signatures for a vote of the residents of the proposed city, a second petition succeeded in being certified, an election was held in which the voters expressed the desire to form their own city, litigation in 19th JDC to block the city from becoming reality, an appeal of the 19th JDC decision to the First Circuit, then finally a trip to the Louisiana Supreme Court.

It was at that point that the organizers admitted that, if the Louisiana Supreme Court ruling did not go their way, the fight was over. The Court, however, ruled in their favor, and the formation of the city was off to the races.

As part of that process, Dustin Yates was appointed by Gov. Landry as the new City’s Interim Mayor, and Todd Morris was appointed as the new City’s Police Chief. Those two gentlemen were the guest speakers at the May, 2024 Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon (sorry for no link, but Sound Off Louisiana’s Burns left Facebook in early 2021 and never intends to return).

Let’s take a look at the highlights of what was covered:

Yates is introduced after which he gave an explanation of his background and exactly how he wound up in Baton Rouge and becoming an integral part of the Community of St. George.

Yates gives special credit to St. George Fire Chief Gerard Tarleton in serving as a mentor for Yates.

Yates makes it clear that he was, “not appointed to start a school system,” after which he stresses the need for “patience” and emphasizes the need for “reconciliation” from “hurt feelings” over the whole formation of St. George.

Yates responds to Sound Off Louisiana‘s Burns posing a question for any “ballpark” estimate of the money spent by EBRP taxpayers fighting the St. George movement, after which Councilwoman Laurie White Adams provides a very definitive answer.

Yates responds to Sound Off Louisiana’s Burns regarding any prospects of a Republican challenger in this November’s race for Mayor-President of EBRP.

Newly-appointed St. George Police Chief Todd Morris’ presentation in its entirety.

CLICK HERE for the May, 2024 Ronald Reagan Newsmaker Luncheon program in its entirety.

Tomorrow (Monday, June 17, 2024) morning, we will be in court for the Defendants’ Peremptory Exception of No Cause of Action on the St. Tammany Parish citizens’ lawsuit against the Louisiana State Police Commission (LSPC).

Those residents contend that the Commission engaged in an “electronic meeting” in violation of Louisiana’s Open Meetings Laws.

They have also called upon Gov. Jeff Landry to seek Defendant LSPC Members’ resignations as a result of alleged violations of Louisiana’s Constitution, their Oaths of Office, and LSPC Rules.

On Tuesday, June 11, 2024 at 2:32 p.m., we reached out to Gov. Landry’s office for comment on those citizens’ call for action on his part. Since their litigation also says the letter the LSPC mailed out gave the “unmistakable impression” that Gov. Jeff Landry opposed the candidacy of Collin Sims for District Attorney in St. Tammany Parish, we asked Gov. Landry point-blank if he in fact did oppose Sims’ candidacy.

Quite frankly, we expected a reply back from Landry’s Office emphatically denying any such proclivity on Landry’s part that he opposed Sims’ candidacy. Instead, Landry’s Office chose not to respond to our inquiry, which makes us wonder if the Plaintiffs’ contention in their litigation regarding Gov. Jeff Landry and whose side he was on in the St. Tammany Parish District Attorney race may just in fact be accurate.

Whatever the case on Gov. Landry, we’ll report upon how tomorrow’s Court hearing turns out.