“I know that LA law can be more than a little squirrelly.”
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Would LA law even matter since this was the ruling of a federal judge?
Jordan, the city’s top prosecutor amid post-Katrina turmoil, has long been ensconced in a perpetual ring of hostility and criticism. But he appears to have undone his political career in one of his first acts in office: Systematically firing white employees in his office. While its hardly uncommon for politicians to clean house and install loyalists, 43 fired employees succeeded in convincing a jury that Jordan, who is black, fired them on the basis of race.
Of 56 total dismissals, 53 of the employees were white. Within six months of his administration, Jordan had hired 68 people, 92 percent of them African-American. Critics further have suggested that the firings had the effect of clearing out the office of institutional knowledge and experienced talent, throwing its daily management into confusion and setting off a trend of poor working conditions and chronic turnover.
The resulting $3.7 million wrongful termination judgment, levied in May 2005, now appears to have given Jordan’s many critics the leverage to push him out of office. Last week, a federal judge ruled that the assets of his office could be seized to pay off the judgment, raising the specter that the city may have to pay the tab or that Jordan’s office could be shut down or financially crippled.
The federal trial brought to light that a key staffer of U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-New Orleans, Jordan’s political mentor, took control of the hiring and firing after the 2002 election. Jefferson is currently awaiting trial on 16 federal charges of bribery and corruption.
Typically, the federal court will apply the state law on enforcement of judgments, garnishments, executions( not in the death penalty sense) etc.