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In re Jordan6/29/2005
(Disciplinary Proceedings) Upon review of the findings and recommendations of the hearing committee and disciplinary board, and considering the record, briefs, and oral argument, it is ordered that Roger W. Jordan, Jr., Louisiana Bar Roll number 19642, be suspended from the practice of law for a period of three months. It is further ordered that the suspension shall be deferred in its entirety, subject to the condition that any misconduct by respondent during a one-year period following the date of finality of this court's judgment may be grounds for making the deferred suspension executory, or imposing additional discipline, as appropriate. All costs and expenses in the matter are assessed against respondent in accordance with Supreme Court Rule XIX, ยง10.1, with legal interest to commence thirty days from the date of finality of this court's judgment until paid.
JOHNSON, J., concurs in part, dissents in part and assigns reasons.
ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY PROCEEDINGS
This attorney disciplinary matter arises from formal charges filed by the Office of Disciplinary Counsel ("ODC") against respondent, Roger W. Jordan, Jr., a former Orleans Parish prosecutor.
UNDERLYING FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
On April 22, 2003, the ODC filed one count of formal charges against respondent, alleging that he violated Rules 3.8(d) and 8.4(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct by failing to timely disclose to the defense evidence tending to negate the guilt of the accused or mitigate the offense. The formal charges against respondent arise from the capital prosecution of Shareef Cousin and respondent's undisputed failure to turn over an eyewitness's statement to the defense.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY OF STATE V. COUSIN:
Before addressing the merits of the case, it is necessary to discuss, in some detail, the underlying facts and procedural history of Shareef Cousin's criminal case.
On March 2, 1995, Michael Gerardi was shot at point-blank range during an armed robbery attempt outside the Port of Call restaurant in New Orleans. Connie Ann Babin, Mr. Gerardi's date that evening and the only eyewitness to the murder, gave three separate statements to the New Orleans Police Department during the homicide investigation. When questioned on the night of the murder, a "visibly shaken" Ms. Babin told the police that she "did not get a good look at the perpetrators and probably could not identify them." (Statement 1).
In the second statement, which was tape recorded by police at Ms. Babin's home on March 5, 1995, three days after the murder, Ms. Babin was asked by a New Orleans Police Department detective whether she could "describe the person who did the shooting, his clothing?" In response, Ms. Babin said that she remembered the shooter was wearing an oversized denim jacket (Statement 2). She continued:
I don't know, it was dark and I did not have my contacts nor my glasses so I'm coming at this at a disadvantage . . I . . you know you could see outlines and shapes and things that stick out, but er . . the socks, I remember the colorful socks, because he kept drawing my attention to it when he kept fidgeting at his ankle area, . . .
Ms. Babin went on to describe the shooter's hair and to say that the shooter was in his late teens and five feet seven or eight inches tall. After providing this description, Ms. Babin stated:
As he looked to me . . I keep getting this vision of a young man with, with an older man's face . . er I don't know that if this is coming . . er somewhere, or if I really did see this person . . . if this is just coming from my imagination or what, but I . .
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