Judge denies restraining order in lawsuit against the state

BATON ROUGE, La. - A federal judge says the governor can move forward with plans to move some juvenile offenders to Angola... despite a lawsuit hoping to stop that temporary move.

“Not because of the substantive nature of our motion and petition but because the governor’s office’s commitment that no child will be transferred to Angola before September 15th,” attorney Ron Haley said .

But Haley and his team are doubling down on their position that under no circumstance should any child be placed in an adult facility. The governor’s office has said the juveniles would be kept in a separate facility on Angola’s campus away from adult inmates

“I think it is a very slippery slope the idea that you’re going to hand-select without due process...so this is without even a due process hearing to suggest, hey you’re going to go to Angola,” Haley continued.

“I just want to comment on how both ridiculous and disheartening this plan is,” says attorney David Utter.

Speaking of plan, the team of attorneys in Haley’s corner say they have yet to see one.

“How are you going to ensure that these kids being transferred to Angola’s need are going to be met? Their educational needs, their sociological needs, their mentorship, their education...everything. And what we got were crickets, we didn’t get anything at all,” Haley explained.

In response to the lawsuit, the Office of Juvenile Justice issued a statement saying, “The plan put forth is a temporary one until a more permanent solution is implemented, which is currently being explored. We believe it is compliant with the law and is the best option available at this time to maintain the safety of the youth, staff and community.” Judge Shelly Dick has also ordered whatever plan the state has, complete or not, needs to be delivered to the attorneys filing the suit no later than 5pm on Wednesday August 24th.

The attorneys behind this challenge plan to hire a juvenile justice expert witness to actually go into Angola and check out the facility where the juveniles will be held.

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