A New Orleans city budget hearing Wednesday revealed widespread financial challenges across the criminal justice system, with officials warning of severe consequences if proposed cuts and funding gaps are not addressed.
The Orleans Parish Criminal District Court is facing a $4.2 million deficit despite the city proposing the same budget as this year for 2027. Chief Judge Juana Marine Lombard asked the city council to restore funds cut from the court’s 2026 budget last year, citing state funding reductions.
“So we have absolutely no funds, no cash on hand to cover the $4.2 million deficit that we’re currently facing,” Judge Tracey Flemings-Davillier told city council members. “What that means is that statutorily mandated items that the court is required to adhere to from a constitutional purpose, that we will not be able to adhere to those requirements. That means more lawsuits. That means overcrowding in the jails, which will then cost the city an extreme amount of money to house people in custody, and then also to transport people to other facilities.”
City council member Lesli Harris asked court staff how they could help reduce the jail population, but staff said that goal could be harder to achieve due to reduced funding and fewer judges following recent state law changes.
The district attorney’s office is also facing significant cuts, with its proposed budget dropping from more than $8.4 million to about $6.9 million. District Attorney Jason Williams painted a dire picture during the hearing, warning that the reductions could mean the end of divisions the city council designed to hold violent criminals accountable.
“The proposed amount would result in a near shutdown of the work that is required to deliver for this community,” Williams said. “Even if we eliminated our entire homicide unit, our Special Victims Unit, our adult diversion unit, and nearly all of our investigators and most of our victim advocates, we still did not get close to the proposed reduction.”
Williams asked the council to restore funding, but council member Freddie King said that might not be realistic given the city’s large deficit. King said he would try to secure as much funding as possible for the district attorney’s office.
Sheriff Michelle Woodfork requested additional funding for the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office, citing the need for about $17 million to address staffing and operational costs, including a new mental health annex set to open next year and medical contractor services.
“In the last two years, there has been a financial strain on the organization that has affected our ability to maintain the infrastructure and basic constitutional operations of our agency,” Woodfork said. “We also recognize that public trust must be earned through consistent performance, transparency and accountability.”
City council members Lesli Harris and J.P. Morrell said reducing the jail population is important but noted that responsibility falls mostly on other departments in the criminal justice system.
The Orleans Parish Public Defenders Office also faces cuts, with its budget reduced by over $600,000 on top of a 31% cut last year. Chief Public Defender Danny Engelberg told council members the reductions could lead to a crisis.
“We’ve eliminated over 30% of all our contract work, cutting 27 contract attorneys. We have cut our bond attorney division. We have implemented a hiring freeze that have left critical positions unfilled,” Engelberg said. “If we cannot restore or partially restore the combined cuts from last year and the proposed cuts for this year, it will impact the most vulnerable in our community, will backslide in our progress on public safety, and will put our entire criminal legal system at risk.”
Staff from the public defender’s office also noted that reduced funding would limit their ability to help kids who commit crimes, people who need substance abuse treatment and others requiring extra services, potentially increasing the jail population and repeat offenses.
Additionally, the city’s Public Safety and Support Department told council members that proposed cuts to their budget would end private security services at city hall, the VA Hospital, Armstrong Park and juvenile court.
The city council has three more budget hearings scheduled and must finalize next year’s budget by December.
READ MORE:Funding challenges revealed for New Orleans criminal justice system at city budget hearing
