"They try to lock 'em up.
He sets 'em free."
A 30-second reel. Candid statements. Identifying details redacted.
The Defendant
Identified. Surveilled. Profiled in advance of trial, for the convenience of the Coalition.
▌The SubjectA profile of the individual in question, prepared for internal reference.
- Bar No.
- Louisiana 33964
- Admitted
- 2011 · Active · Good Standing
- Prior Service
- U.S. Marine Corps, 2001 to 2006
- Education
- Tulane University · UC Berkeley School of Law
- Practice
- Serious state felonies · Statewide writs · Appeals · Federal criminal defense
- Honors
- La. Super Lawyer (14 consecutive years) · LACDL Blackstone Award
The Witnesses
On the condition of anonymity. Tape stopped, then restarted, then stopped again.
▌ConfessionalsSworn statements. Identifying details redacted. Tap a redaction if you must.
██████████Denied
Asst. District Attorney · OrleansI had the guy. Plea offer on the table. Dead to rights. Then I saw the entry of appearance and I knew it was going to be a long morning. I packed a second coffee.
██████████Denied
Veteran Detective · 17 yrsYou write the affidavit. You think it's clean. You think no one is going to read it that closely. He reads it that closely. He found the one comma that was in the wrong place. The judge granted the motion.
██████████Denied
Assistant U.S. Attorney · EDLASix-month investigation. Wires. Two CIs. Federal indictment. He took it apart in a single two-hour suppression hearing. He knew our informant's history better than we did.
██████████Denied
Federal Agent · DEA Task ForceMost defense attorneys take the L on a bad trial-court ruling and move on. They protect the record for appeal. He just files. Same week. Sometimes the same day. We are not built for the same-day filing.
██████████Denied
Asst. District Attorney · JeffersonHe remembers every prior inconsistent statement my witness has ever made. Every one. I have started to wonder if he keeps a binder. I have started to wonder if I should start a binder.
██████████Denied
Special Agent · FBI NOLALook. I have worked plenty of cases against plenty of defense lawyers. Most of them I respect. This one I respect and I resent. Those are not, in my experience, the same feeling.
The Charges
Each count is independently sufficient. Pleaded in the alternative.
"We hold no personal animus toward Mr. Matthews. He is, by all accounts, polite in chambers. That is precisely the problem."
-
Sustained¶1
He files. Always.
Most attorneys see a bad ruling and preserve the record for later appeal. He sees a bad ruling and sees a supervisory writ. To him, deadlines are not suggestions.
See: URCA Rule 4-3 · La. Code Crim. P. art. 912.1 -
Sustained¶2
He reads the discovery.
The whole discovery. Including the supplemental reports. Including the footnotes. He found the footnotes.
See: Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963) -
Sustained¶3
He knows the rules.
He refers to the Federal Rules of Evidence by number. Not just 403 and 404(b). All of them. We have caught him citing 902(11) without notes.
See: Fed. R. Evid. 403, 404(b), 902(11) -
Sustained¶4
He was a Marine.
From 2001 to 2006. Combat deployment to Afghanistan. So the standard courtroom intimidation tactics, such as they are, have not produced the desired effect.
See: DD Form 214 · United States Marine Corps -
Sustained¶5
He argues at the Louisiana Supreme Court.
Not once. More than once. With, we are told, every intention of returning. When a case demands it, he takes the question all the way up. He just does not stop.
See: La. Sup. Ct. Oral Argument Calendar · Recurring -
Sustained¶6
He cross-examines.
Patiently. Politely. With the air of a man who has all afternoon, several spare copies of your prior testimony, and no particular interest in helping you out.
See: Fed. R. Evid. 611 · La. Code Evid. art. 611 -
Sustained¶7
He cites Franks.
The threshold for a Franks hearing is, by design, exceptionally high. He clears it. The threshold is, by design, exceptionally narrow. He keeps it.
See: Franks v. Delaware, 438 U.S. 154 (1978) -
Sustained¶8
He does not settle for less.
He has been known to refuse a favorable plea offer in the morning and file a Motion to Suppress in the afternoon. The motion is granted. The favorable plea is no longer required.
See: U.S. Const. amend. IV · Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961)
The Evidence
A non-exhaustive log of recent infractions, taken from the public docket. Reader discretion advised.
▌On the RecordSelected case entries. The State has, in each instance, been on notice.
The Support Group
Meetings held weekly. Tissues provided. Outside food permitted.
▌The HatersA brief, sympathetic survey of those most affected.
"I have started bringing three copies of everything. He will find the one I didn't bring."
"He once got a confession thrown out because the interview room was two degrees too cold. I am not joking."
"He remembers every prior inconsistent statement. I think he has a photographic memory just to inconvenience me."
"I have stopped getting personally invested in whether my warrants survive. I have, instead, started writing them better."
The Record
Questions, anticipated. Answers, certified. A transcript of the deposition nobody requested.
Taken pursuant to notice · All objections reserved
Reported by: The Undersigned, CCR
A Note from the Editors
In which the Coalition concedes, with characteristic reluctance, the underlying point of the entire enterprise.
The Coalition of Frustrated Prosecutors, Peace Officers, and Federal Agents wishes to clarify, for the record, that we hold no personal animus toward Mr. Matthews.
He is, by all accounts, polite in chambers. He returns calls. His pleadings are formatted correctly. He has, on more than one occasion, brought us coffee.
That is precisely the problem.
If we are to be defeated on the merits, week after week, by a single attorney in a quiet, well-prepared, profoundly inconvenient fashion, the very least the public can do is be made aware of it.
Peace Officers, and Federal Agents
New Orleans, Louisiana
Know a prosecutor who needs to see this?
A defendant who needs the man they're complaining about?
▌Procedural HistoryFor the record: what happens after someone calls him. We have watched it too many times.
The Call
It begins with a phone call. Short. Direct. He asks what happened before he asks anything else.
The Confidential Consultation
Privileged and sealed. We have tried, repeatedly, to learn what gets said in that room. We cannot.
The Case Review
Every page of discovery gets read. Every deadline gets calendared. Somewhere on a legal pad, a writ is already taking shape.
The Strategy
Then comes the plan: motions, hearings, and if a trial court gets it wrong, the question goes up. You have read the preceding exhibits. You know the rest.
If they are this annoyed,
imagine what he could do for you.
Serious state felony defense. Statewide writs and appeals. Federal criminal defense in the Eastern District of Louisiana and the Fifth Circuit.
Consult Jerome Matthews