New Orleans D.A. loses civil rights verdict appeal

NEW ORLEANS —  The New Orleans district attorney lost his fight Wednesday against a ruling that said he violated the civil rights of dozens of white employees when he fired them after taking office in 2003 and replaced them with black workers.

Orleans Parish prosecutor Eddie Jordan said he filled key positions with political supporters and did not discriminate based on race when he took over from longtime Dist. Atty. Harry Connick Sr. in 2003; he fired 53 of 77 employees.

In his appeal, Jordan had argued that jurors did not have enough evidence to reach that conclusion in 2005.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict that, with interest, means Jordan’s office owes the ex-workers and their attorneys about $3.5 million.

In addition to rejecting all points of Jordan’s appeal, the panel also ordered U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval to set attorney fees to cover the appeal for the plaintiffs. Plaintiffs attorney Clement Donelon estimated that would add another $80,000 to $100,000 to the judgment.

All of the fired employees, with the exception of one who was Latino, were white. The jury found that 43 had been the victims of racial discrimination by Jordan, who is black, and awarded damages to 35 of them, Donelon said.

The decision by the 5th Circuit is “a complete victory,” Donelon said.

Dalton Savwoir Jr., a spokesman for the district attorney, said Jordan was disappointed by the decision and planned to “seek other avenues through the appeal process.”

Jordan’s agency will be liable for the judgment, Donelon said, and the agency does not have insurance to pay the verdict.

“At the end of the road -- and the road is quickly running out -- if he doesn’t pay, eventually the office’s assets can be seized,” Donelon said.

Jordan was U.S. attorney for the New Orleans-based Eastern District of Louisiana during the administration of President Clinton. His term included a conviction against former Gov. Edwin W. Edwards in 2000 for shaking down casino license holders.