Mayor Ray Nagin unwilling to bail out the DA in race discrimination suit

Mayor Ray Nagin told City Council members Friday to brace themselves for an unprecedented event: a possible state takeover of embattled District Attorney Eddie Jordan's office that could come as soon as Monday.

The City Attorney had previously informed the City Council that the cash-strapped city government had no legal obligation to pay the debt as Jordan has requested. Council members went on record this week as being against any bailout for Jordan.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs in the discrimination case said this week they are prepared to seize assets of the district attorney's office -- including payroll accounts -- if Jordan's office does not pay up. Jordan's aides say if any accounts are seized, prosecutors will quit en masse and the office will shut down.

Speaking from an armchair with six of the council's seven members gathered around him, Nagin said he was ready to work with the city's legislative branch to craft what he called a "Plan B" that he hopes will "get to a better place in the operation" of the district attorney's office.

'Whatever it takes'

Under what he called a "worst case scenario," Nagin said state Attorney General Charles Foti is prepared to step in on a moment's notice and assume management of Jordan's office.

With the council's support, Nagin said he is prepared to appropriate the money necessary to give "key" members of Jordan's staff "comfort that they're going to continue to get a paycheck."

Once some level of stability is assured, Nagin said, he hopes that the district attorney's staff will be assisted by personnel from Foti's office and possibly other district attorneys from around the state.

After his meeting with the council, Nagin said he discussed the situation with the attorney general this week and said Foti assured him he would do "whatever it takes" to ensure that the prosecution of crimes would continue in New Orleans.

"He said 'I can't pre-determine this, but I give you my word, if this goes to the worst-case scenario, I am ready to come in and help get this to a better place very quickly,'¤" Nagin said.

Based on his conversation with Foti, Nagin said he is convinced that a state takeover would not be "as catastrophic as some are suggesting."

Nagin said he met with Jordan on Friday afternoon and informed him that the city would not be offering any financial aid.

Nagin said Jordan "was a little disappointed. Then we started talking about other ways to solve this."

No solutions were offered, and Nagin said he doesn't predict a happy ending.

"I don't see how the city is going to come to the DA's rescue before this kind of gets to the point where the plaintiffs do what they have to do and this thing gets escalated to a higher level," he said.

Support questioned

Nagin was noncommittal about Jordan's chances of surviving as the city's chief prosecutor if Foti steps in.

"It depends on how the attorney general handles it," Nagin said. "At that point in time, the attorney general is going to have a lot to say about whether he stays or doesn't."

Nagin stopped short of calling for Jordan's resignation, which City Councilwoman Shelley Midura did several months ago.

"I just want to see a new structure in that office, that we have some higher levels of accountability and people get more comfortable that we're moving forward," Nagin said.

The mayor acknowledged that while "a certain segment of the population would love to see" Jordan step down, "there's another population that has sympathy for him, especially when they perceive he's being beat on."

He also acknowledged that the recent revelation that a young man who was an acquaintance of Jordan's girlfriend stopped by the district attorney's Algiers house briefly after allegedly committing an armed robbery has not helped Jordan in the court of public opinion.

"I think support for him among the public is not very high right now," Nagin said.

Legal opinion

The legal opinion prepared by City Attorney Penya Moses-Fields at the City Council's request said that a "review of the federal and state statutes" revealed that the city "has never been required to fund any judgments rendered against the Orleans Parish district attorney or any other state official."

Moses-Fields also noted that the city originally was named as a defendant in the suit against Jordan, but was later voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiffs.

During his meeting with the council, Nagin said that even if the city were in a position to assist Jordan, he would oppose the move because of the dangerous precedent it would set if similar discrimination cases are ever filed against other government agencies.

Council members have urged Jordan to search for other options, including scrubbing his own budget, seeking aid from the state or taking out a loan.

On Wednesday the federal court removed the two-year hold it had placed on the judgment to allow for Jordan's appeals, making the jury verdict of May 29, 2005, finally enforceable.

After that ruling, a spokesman for the legal team representing the plaintiffs said they were willing to work with the city up to a point.

"Do they want to have a DA's office?" attorney Richard Leefe asked. "We have no alternative but to virtually take the assets away. We're reticent. We don't want to do that. But if the city isn't going to take any action, what's our choice?"

A jury decided that Jordan, the city's first black district attorney, violated employment discrimination laws when after taking office he ordered the wholesale firing of white employees and replaced them with black workers. Jordan was sued as district attorney, not personally, meaning the judgment lands on the office and not the man at the helm.

During the meeting with Nagin, City Councilman James Carter, a lawyer, said he had met with the plaintiffs' attorneys and fears they are poised to act.

"They want to hear some comforting words," Carter said. "And they want to see some cash."

Councilwoman Stacy Head, who also is a lawyer, said she is ready to "play chicken" with the attorneys.

In the end, Nagin and the council agreed to take a united stand against paying the judgment, while continuing to urge Jordan to pursue other options.