New trial ordered for murder suspect

The Times-Picayune reports:

Seven years have passed since someone gunned down 18-year-old Leroy Batiste Jr. outside an eastern New Orleans apartment complex.

A jury in 2002 convicted Bruce Taylor and sent him to prison for life. But this past fall, a federal appeals court declared the verdict unfair, saying it was based on a single, shaky witness, no physical evidence and a police officer's second-hand testimony that never should have been allowed.

The federal opinion can be found here.

The story continues:

These days, Taylor, 30, remains in Orleans Parish Prison awaiting a new trial, and District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro's office is preparing to start from scratch.

But his staff might not get a chance to try the case. Public defender Stuart Weg has asked the district attorney's office to step aside because the 2002 trial took place in the courtroom where Cannizzaro presided as judge for 17 years. Weg is asking the court to let the state's attorney general handle the case.

That falls under Code of Criminal Procedure article 680:

A district attorney shall be recused when he:

(1) Has a personal interest in the cause or grand jury proceeding which is in conflict with fair and impartial administration of justice. . . .

The relevant standard, if you're interested, can be found in State v. McBride, 1999-2904, pp. 12-13 (La.App. 4 Cir. 11/29/00), 776 So.2d 546, 551-552. Posted by MBC at January 6, 2009 09:06 PM