NEW ORLEANS – A federal magistrate has allowed a defense attorney to subpoena records from a New Orleans news organization about comments anonymously posted on its website.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Wilkinson on Tuesday approved a request by a lawyer for former New Orleans Affordable Homeownership executive director Stacey Jackson. Jackson was indicted last year on federal charges including theft and bribery.
Former U.S. Attorney Jim Letten resigned in December 2012 after two of his top deputies acknowledged posting anonymous comments on nola.com about cases handled by their office. Nola.com is the companion website of The Times-Picayune.
Jackson's lawyer, Edward Castaing, says comments posted under the user names "aircheck" and "jammer1954" indicate efforts to pressure suspects to cooperate with prosecutors.
NOLA Media Group has 10 days to respond to the subpoena.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
