HLS 21RS-3764 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 197
BY REPRESENTATIVES GAINES, HUGHES, MACK, AND CHARL ES OWEN
CRIMINAL/PROCEDURE: Creates the Equal Justice Task Force to study the effects of the
non-unanimous jury verdict law in Louisiana
1 A RESOLUTION
2To create the Equal Justice Task Force for the purpose of formulating a method to enable the
3 judicial system of Louisiana and the Department of Corrections to ensure the equal
4 application of laws as such laws relate to individuals who may have been subjected
5 to a miscarriage of justice due to the non-unanimous jury verdict law in Louisiana.
6 WHEREAS, non-unanimous jury verdicts were ratified during the Louisiana
7Constitutional Convention of 1898; and
8 WHEREAS, in 2018, Louisiana voters approved a state constitutional amendment
9to require the unanimous agreement of jurors to convict people charged with felonies
10beginning with trials for crimes committed in 2019; and
11 WHEREAS, in April of 2020, the United States Supreme Court rendered a decision
12to allow the ban on non-unanimous jury verdicts to apply only to future cases and cases in
13which the defendants' appeals had not been exhausted; and
14 WHEREAS, in May of 2021, the United States Supreme Court rendered a decision
15confirming its previous decision and specified that the jury-unanimity rule does not apply
16retroactively; and
17 WHEREAS, a remedy has currently been precluded under federal law but may still
18be available under state law; and
19 WHEREAS, as many as one thousand five hundred Louisiana inmates who received
20non-unanimous jury verdicts have exhausted their appeals; and
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HR NO. 197
1 WHEREAS, the non-unanimous jury verdict law does not serve to give an
2opportunity to those whose guilt was convincingly established, but to ensure that the
3innocent are afforded justice; and
4 WHEREAS, in order to ensure an objective, hindsight-based review of all cases of
5individuals still incarcerated as a result of non-unanimous jury verdicts, qualified legal
6professionals should be employed to review the cases of individuals incarcerated under the
7former non-unanimous jury verdict law.
8 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
9Legislature of Louisiana does hereby create the Equal Justice Task Force for the purpose of
10formulating a method that will enable the judicial system of Louisiana and the Department
11of Corrections to ensure the equal application of laws as such laws relate to individuals who
12may have been subjected to a miscarriage of justice due to Louisiana's non-unanimous jury
13verdict law.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the primary objective of the task force is to
15deliberate all applicable facts, circumstances, policies, and procedures that may have
16resulted in consequences of injustice for the specific purpose of recommending plausible
17remedies for miscarriages of justice that are determined to have resulted from non-
18unanimous jury verdicts occurring prior to January 1, 2019.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall be comprised of the
20following members:
21 (1) Representative Randal L. Gaines.
22 (2) Representative Jason Hughes.
23 (3) Representative Sherman Q. Mack.
24 (4) Representative Charles Owen.
25 (5) Representative Kathy Edmonston.
26 (6) Representative Edmond Jordan.
27 (7) Representative Sam Jenkins.
28 (8) A representative from the Louisiana District Attorneys Association.
29 (9) A representative from the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association.
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HR NO. 197
1 (10) A representative from the division of probation and parole of the Department
2of Public Safety and Corrections.
3 (11) A representative from the Promise of Justice Initiative.
4 (12) A representative from the Louisiana Public Defender Board.
5 (13) A representative from Voices of Innocent Citizens Empowered, Incorporated.
6 (14) A representative from Voice of the Experienced.
7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a majority of the total membership shall
8constitute a quorum of the task force and that any official action by the task force shall
9require an affirmative vote of a majority of the quorum present and voting.
10 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the initial meeting of the task force shall be
11called by the chairman of the House Committee on Judiciary. At the first meeting, the task
12force shall elect a chair. The first meeting shall take place no later than October 18, 2021.
13The Louisiana House of Representatives shall provide staff support.
14 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of this task force shall serve without
15compensation.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the meetings of the task force shall take place
17at the Louisiana state capitol, or upon a majority vote of the members such meetings may
18be conducted by video conference where circumstances necessitate meeting in that manner.
19 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall meet as necessary and shall
20report its findings to the legislature not later than February 15, 2022, and shall terminate
21upon the date of such report.
22 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
23executive director of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, the executive director of
24the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association, the secretary of the Department of Public Safety and
25Corrections, the executive director of the Promise of Justice Initiative, the chairman of the
26Louisiana Public Defender Board, the director of Voices of Innocent Citizens Empowered,
27Incorporated, and the executive director of Voice of the Experienced.
28 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the INSERT shall submit one print copy and one
29electronic copy of any report produced pursuant to this Resolution to the David R. Poynter
30Legislative Research Library as required by R.S. 24:772.
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HR NO. 197
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 197 Original 2021 Regular Session Gaines
Creates the Equal Justice Task Force to study the effects of the non-unanimous jury verdict
law in Louisiana.
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