Opinion

Rand v. City of New Orleans

  • 2012 La.App. 4 Cir. 0348
  • 125 So. 3d 476
  • 2012 La. App. LEXIS 1644
  • 2012 WL 6218289
Court
Louisiana Court of Appeal
Filed
Dec 13, 2012
Status
Published
Author
Belsome
On the bench
Belsome, Jones, Love
Cited by
17 cases
Authority
More cited than 17.1%

The opinion

BELSOME, J.,

concurs with reasons.

Ill respectfully concur in the result reached by the majority opinion, but write separately to more specifically address the manner in which the hearing procedure implemented by the City violates due process. The fact that the hearing officers are paid by the City may give rise to some concern, but the overriding due process concerns rest with the multiple roles the hearing officer fulfills in the performance of his duties. During the hearings, the hearing officer presents the evidence against the citizen by way of a video tape of the alleged infraction. Further, the hearing officer also elicits a self-incriminating affidavit from the citizen and determines if any further evidence will be allowed. Then, as the trier of fact, the hearing officer presumably weighs the evidence to determine whether the City or the citizen will prevail. I find that this commingling of prosecutorial and adjudicative functions violate the citizen’s constitutional right to due process. See, Allen v. Louisiana State Bd. of Dentistry, 543 So.2d 908 (La.1989).

This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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