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Trial of Top New Orleans Prosecutor Becomes "Disjointed, Raucous"

Trial of Top New Orleans Prosecutor Becomes "Disjointed, Raucous"

Top New Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams is facing federal charges for $200,000 in tax fraud. The former top prosecutor's trial officially began with jury selection on Monday, July 18.

Opening statements occurred on Tuesday, July 19, with Williams's tax preparer, Henry Timothy -- now an admitted party to tax fraud on numerous occasions -- taking the stand on Wednesday, July 20.

Timothy delivered bombshell testimony, admitting that he falsified the lawyer's tax returns, the returns of co-defendant Nicole Burdett, and the returns of many other clients.

Now, the trial -- which is expected to last five to seven days in total -- has continued with a "disjointed day" on Monday, July 25. The courtroom was described as chaotic and "raucous" by Nola.com.

The outlet's latest report noted:

...Michael Magner, a defense attorney for Burdett, tried to argue that the IRS hasn’t prosecuted anyone within the Eastern District of Louisiana for failing to file those forms [forms for cash payments of more than $10,000 each] in at least 50 years. But prosecutors quickly objected, and U.S. District Court Judge Lance Africk told jurors to strike the remark from their minds.

The uproar was a raucous moment in a disjointed day that saw several witnesses called to testify, many of whom sat on the stand for less than 30 minutes. One was dismissed before she was sworn in after a decision to exclude a piece of evidence rendered her testimony unnecessary.

Williams's education was also called into question in Judge Africk's courtroom on Monday. The once well-respected DA attended law school at Tulane University, and university registrar, Colette Raphel, took the stand. 

After reviewing Williams’s law school transcripts, Raphel testified that the defendant had taken only one four credit-hour tax course in 1996. Although Judge Africk initially ruled that Raphel could only indicate whether Williams had passed or failed the course, he eventually relented and allowed her to share his grade.

Raphel concluded her testimony saying, "He got a C."

Williams is facing 10 counts in the ongoing trial. 

Have you been following Jason Williams's trial in New Orleans?

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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