VICTORY ON APPEAL: Federal Fifth Circuit Grants Most & Associates’ Client New Free Speech Trial
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in favor of Most & Associates’ client Dr. Joy Banner, co-founder of the nonprofit The Descendants Project, in her free speech case against St. John the Baptist Parish officials.
The case involves a November 28, 2023 Parish Council meeting where Banner tried to speak during a public comment period. Parish President Jaclyn Hotard claimed Banner was breaking the law with her words, and Parish Council Chair Michael Wright threatened Banner with imprisonment under a criminal statute. Notably, the statute that the officials threatened Banner with had been declared unconstitutional nine years earlier, and Wright was even reading from a copy of the law that said "Unconstitutional" at the top.
At the time she was silenced, Banner was attempting to address the impropriety of President Hotard using taxpayer money for a private attorney to defend herself against ethics charges. It was later revealed that Hotard's husband had a secret financial interest in an $800 million dollar grain elevator project that Hotard was promoting as Parish President.
At a federal trial regarding the free speech issues, the Parish officials' lawyer engaged in a range of conduct that the trial court judge determined to have “repeatedly crossed the bounds of proper advocacy.” At the end of the trial, the jury decided in favor of the Parish officials and against Banner.
But as the Fifth Circuit ruled today, the "sheer volume of misconduct in which defendants engaged at every stage of trial casts a pall over the jury’s deliberations." The Fifth Circuit condemned "defendants’ egregious behavior at trial," and noted that regardless of "of how frequently and aggressively the court declared these prejudicial subjects to be out of bounds, defendants petulantly persisted in tainting the jury with their barrage of ill-conceived statements."
The Fifth Circuit observed that “you can throw a skunk into the jury box and instruct the jurors not to smell it, but it doesn’t do any good.” The Fifth Circuit granted Banner a new trial.
Read more here: https://www.nola.com/news/courts/louisiana-st-john-free-speech-federal-court/article_31d5a02c-5243-433a-8173-1b015b8c7a2d.html
Legal Challenge to Protections and Opportunities for Historically Disadvantaged Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners Is Dismissed
New Orleans – Plaintiffs have voluntarily dismissed their claims via stipulation in Revier Technologies, Inc. v. SBA, abandoning a case that sought to dismantle a longstanding federal 8(a) Business Development Program that provided key protections and opportunities for historically disadvantaged entrepreneurs and small business owners. Prior to dismissal, two small businesses successfully intervened in federal court to defend the program after the Trump-Vance administration signaled it would refuse to defend the program in a legal challenge.
The intervenors – Sage Services Group LLC (Sage) and Gov Contract Pros, LLC (GCP) – argued that the lawsuit threatened Small Business Administration (SBA) programs that help small businesses access federal contracting opportunities, business development resources, and technical assistance that have historically been out of reach for many entrepreneurs. By dismissing the case, plaintiffs – Revier Technologies Inc. and Young America’s Foundation – have dropped their request for far-reaching relief that would go far beyond the specific programs at issue and could undermine decades of federal efforts to expand access to economic opportunities. Dismissal might not have happened without the intervenors’ persistent efforts to protect the SBA’s 8(a) program, and others like it. Democracy Forward, Minority Business Enterprise Legal Defense and Education Fund, Inc. (MBELDEF), and Most & Associates represent the intervenors.
“This is a win for small businesses and our Judicial system, “ said Sonya Y Hopson, CEO of Sage. “We are thankful that we were able to voice our concerns and be heard.”
“This dismissal is a significant win for small businesses in the federal marketplace,” said Trevor Skelly of GCP. “GCP is proud to have supported this effort with Sage Services Group, and we will continue to advocate on behalf of those small businesses wherever and whenever possible.”
Congress created the 8(a) Business Development program to support small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and to help ensure fair access to federal contracting opportunities. The 8(a) program previously included a rebuttable presumption that certain minority groups were socially disadvantaged for purposes of program eligibility, which the plaintiffs in Revier challenged in their attempt to subvert the program and others like it. A new SBA rule replaced that presumption. This dismissal means that 8(a) program’s wide range of business development tools, including mentorship opportunities, technical assistance, and federal contracting support that many small businesses rely on to grow and compete, will remain intact.
“We are honored to work with the small businesses that successfully intervened and defended crucial support for the small businesses that cultivate historically underserved communities,” said Steven Bressler, Senior Legal Advisor at Democracy Forward. “The Trump-Vance administration made clear they would not defend mom and pop shops and the businesses that help make neighborhoods great places to live and work.”
“MBELDEF is honored to stand with these small and minority businesses who have the courage to stand for justice. They represent millions of other businesses across the nation who are the lifeblood of our economy,” said Sarah von der Lippe, Pro Bono Chief Counsel of MBELDEF. “We will continue to monitor the actions of this administration to ensure that they operate the 8(a) program, and all small business programs, in a manner that is fair, constitutional and consistent with the intent of Congress.”
“We are so proud to represent businesses like these that have the courage to stand up for what is right,” said William Most, lead attorney at Most & Associates.
The legal team at Democracy Forward includes Cortney Robinson Henderson, Emily Newton, Steven Bressler, and Robin Thurston. The legal team for MBELDEF includes Sarah von der Lippe. The legal team at Most and Associates includes lead attorney, William Most.
Read the stipulation here and the order dismissing the case here.
Attorney William Most Speaks to Press Club of Baton Rouge About Taxation Without Representation
Today, William Most spoke to the Press Club of Baton Rouge about Glasper v. Louisiana State University Economic Development District, a case about a series of sales tax increases that bypass legal requirements of voter approval.
Watch the press conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YNa4y90KGs&t=22s
Read about the lawsuit here: https://tinyurl.com/y4xv4fju
Class Certification Victory in Overdetention Cases
According to The Advocate: “A federal judge has granted class action status to lawsuits claiming Louisiana regularly kept inmates in prison past their release dates, opening the door for thousands of former inmates to join the case.
The plaintiffs argue the Department of Public Safety & Corrections knew about the problem yet failed to take proper action for at least a decade. While the judge has not yet ruled in their favor, granting class action status recognizes the scope of the problem, they say.
‘This is a major victory for accountability — and we hope it is the beginning of the end of the state’s pattern of illegally imprisoning thousands of Louisianans at taxpayer expense,’ William Most, one of the attorneys on the case, said in a statement.”
Read the news story here or the judge’s order here.
VICTORY AT TRIAL: Most & Associates wins free speech case against City of Baton Rouge for suppressing criticism of the police department.
Today, a federal judge ruled that Most & Associates’ clients Michael McClanahan and Eugene Collins won a free speech lawsuit that had been pending for more than seven years.
The lawsuit involved the actions of Scott Wilson, the former head of Baton Rouge’s legislative body. In particular, Mr. Wilson had the plaintiffs and others forcibly removed during public comment at a May 10, 2017 meeting of that legislative body, commonly known as the Metro Council.
On the agenda that day was the city’s handling of officer-involved shootings. Members of the community showed up to express the view that Baton Rouge’s government should not return to business-as-usual without first resolving how to respond to the Baton Rouge Police Department’s controversial killing of a man named Alton Sterling.
Although members of the public should have been allowed the usual three minutes to comment on each agenda item, Mr. Wilson ordered the police to remove six citizens during their public comment as soon as they said the words “Alton Sterling” or signaled any sort of criticism of the police department.
Those six citizens included plaintiffs McClanahan and Collins. When Michael McClanahan, now the head of the state’s NAACP chapter, got up to the microphone to speak, Scott Wilson ordered police officers to “take him out” less than one second after McClanahan said the words “Alton Sterling.”
And Eugene Collins, formerly the president of the Baton Rouge NAACP, was only at the podium for 2.5 seconds - and had barely begun to speak - before Scott Wilson ordered police to “take him out.”
Later that year, McClanahan and Collins filed a federal lawsuit, contending that Wilson and the City had violated their First Amendment rights. In 2021, a trial was held before Judge John W. deGravelles of the Middle District of Louisiana. Today, Judge deGravelles issued a fifty-five page decision, concluding that plaintiffs Michael McClanahan and Eugene Collins had won their case “against Defendant Scott Wilson in his official capacity as Mayor Pro Tempore, on their claims for violations of their First Amendment rights.”
The judge rejected Wilson’s defense that he had forcibly removed McClanahan and Collins merely to enforce a neutral rule about speaking “off-topic.” Judge deGravelles pointed out that Wilson lacked any evidence that the rule was actually enforced neutrally. In particular, the judge noted that there was “no record evidence of any community member being removed from a Metro Council meeting for ‘being off-topic’ except those who spoke about Alton Sterling and the police.”
Given the way Scott Wilson treated citizens differently based on what they said, Judge deGravelles concluded that Wilson was acting with an “improper motive” – that of suppressing particular viewpoints.
As a result, the judge issued a declaratory judgment confirming that Scott Wilson (and through him, the City of Baton Rouge) had violated McClanahan and Collins’ First Amendment rights. He also indicated that McClanahan and Collins were entitled to their reasonable attorneys fees and costs.
Attorney William Most Wins FBA Public Service Award
We are very proud to announce that attorney William Most has won the New Orleans Chapter of the Federal Bar Association's 2025 Public Service Award.
This award honors the late Camille Gravel, a champion in the battle for civil rights and equal justice irrespective of financial means. The award recognizes an attorney who has done substantial pro bono or public service legal work.
Read more here: https://www.fbaneworleans.org/chapter-awards-25
VICTORY ON APPEAL: Most & Associates Wins Reversal of Client's Conviction
Most & Associates attorneys Caroline Gabriel and William Most represented a New Orleans lawyer who was wrongfully convicted of contempt of court for First-Amendment-protected speech.
Given the range of serious procedural and substantive problems with the conviction, Most & Associates filed a writ to the Louisiana Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal. Today, the Louisiana Fourth Circuit reversed the conviction and entirely vacated the finding of contempt, remanding the matter to the trial court.
We are proud to fight for our clients’ First Amendment freedoms.
VICTORY AT TRIAL: Most & Associates wins jury trial involving NOPD officer who shot and killed a sixteen-week-old puppy.
This week Most & Associates attorneys William Most and Hope Phelps, working alongside attorneys from Jones Walker, won a federal jury trial involving the killing of a pet dog by a New Orleans Police Department officer.
The jury found that NOPD Officer Derrick Burmaster acted in an “objectively unreasonable manner” when he shot and killed a sixteen-week-old, eighteen inch tall puppy named Apollo during a 2021 call for service.
During the trial, the jury learned that Officer Burmaster had more than thirty uses of force and twenty rule violations in his time with NOPD, but was allowed to remain on the streets.
As a result, the jury determined that the City of New Orleans itself was liable for the constitutional violation because of the way it inadequately trained, supervised, or disciplined Officer Burmaster.
“We are so glad to have justice for Apollo,” said Attorney Most. “We hope that this trial will achieve lasting change in the way the New Orleans Police Department trains its officers to handle animals they meet in the field.”
Once Again, All of Most & Associates’ Lawyers Selected for Recognition by Super Lawyers
Attorneys William Most, Caroline Gabriel, David Lanser, and Hope Phelps have all been selected for the 2024 Louisiana Super Lawyers or Rising Stars lists.
Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor.
VICTORY AT TRIAL: $3.6 million jury award for Most & Associates' client.
On March 26, 2025, Attorneys Hope Phelps and Caroline Gabriel led a trial that resulted in a $3.6 million jury award for a client of Most & Associates. Our client was a survivor of sexual assault who showed incredible bravery in taking the stand and telling the truth about her experience.
The jury was so moved by our clients’ testimony that several jurors came up and hugged her as they left the courtroom. In awarding a seven figure verdict to the plaintiff, the jury recognized the harm she had experienced and sent a strong message about what is unacceptable in our community.
VICTORY AT TRIAL: Federal jury awards $1 million to Most & Associates client who survived police sexual abuse.
Today, a federal jury returned a civil verdict of $1 million against the City of New Orleans in a case brought by Most & Associates. The case involved a former New Orleans Police Department officer named Rodney Vicknair who met a fourteen-year-old child in the course of taking the child to the hospital for a rape kit after a sexual assault.
Officer Vicknair maintained contact with the child after the hospital, and as she testified at trial, Officer Vicknair sexually assaulted her four times over the next few months. Vicknair was subsequently arrested, plead guilty, and was sentenced to federal prison. He died of a brain tumor shortly after beginning his prison sentence.
The questions for the jury were how much the City should pay to the plaintiff for the battery, assault, and false imprisonment, and whether the City was also responsible for the constitutional violations.
At trial, the young woman’s lawyers offered evidence about Officer Vicknair’s criminal history –that he had been arrested for serious crimes including battery, aggravated assault, and attempted burglary – all before the City hired him to be an officer. Attorneys Hope Phelps and William Most framed it as not a story of “an officer who turned into a criminal, but a criminal the City turned into an officer.”
Most & Associates lawyers also provided evidence about the days leading up to the final sexual assault. They showed the jury a text message sent to Shaun Ferguson, then the head of the NOPD, five days before the final sexual assault. The text message warned of a “potential sexual abuse of a minor by an officer.” At trial, former chief Ferguson admitted that he did not tell anyone about that text message.
After three hours of deliberation, the jury ruled in favor of Most & Associates’ client on all claims, and awarded the client $1 million in damages. Minutes after the jury verdict, the judge ruled that the plaintiff would also be entitled to her attorneys fees.
Attorney William Most commented: “We hope that the New Orleans Police Department takes this verdict as a wake-up-call and ensures that no other officers use the privilege of their badge and uniform to sexually abuse members of our community.”
Attorney Hope Phelps of Most & Associates commented: “We're so proud of our client’s courage. This is how change happens.”
Read more in the Washington Post here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2024/08/21/new-orleans-police-sexual-abuse-verdict/
Read more in the New York Times here: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/22/us/new-orleans-officer-sexual-assault.html
Most & Associates announces Voting Rights Act suit against East Baton Rouge Parish.
Most & Associates is proud to represent the plaintiffs - five council members and two residents - in a new Voting Rights Act lawsuit challenging the Baton Rouge Metro Council redistricting.
The federal lawsuit, filed in the Middle District of Louisiana, addresses the districts of the East Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council, the governing legislative body of the Parish. The lawsuit explains how a new map of Metro Council districts, set to go into effect in 2025, violates the law by denying Black voters equal opportunity to elect their chosen candidates.
The lawsuit shows how the new map “packs” large numbers of Black voters into a few majority-Black council districts, by placing more than 68.5% of the Parish’s Black registered voters into just 42% of the Parish’s Metro Council districts.
Thus, although white residents have been declining in numbers in Baton Rouge and no longer are the majority group, the new map would increase white control of the Metro Council by creating an additional majority-white council district. In total, the new map would create seven majority-white districts and five majority-Black districts.
Learn more here: https://www.wafb.com/2024/06/27/metro-council-members-sue-city-say-new-district-map-illegal-violates-voting-rights-act/
Watch the whole press conference here: https://t.co/rQbhuMB2lQ
Read the complaint here: https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lamd.64949/gov.uscourts.lamd.64949.1.0.pdf
"Free speech suit over whether activist was silenced by St. John official can go forward, judge says."
Read about Most & Associates work in The Advocate Times Picayune:
A First Amendment lawsuit accusing the St. John the Baptist Parish Council chairman of illegally shutting down the public meeting comments of a local activist can proceed after a federal judge refused to bring a quick end to the litigation.
In a statement, William Most, attorney for Banner, welcomed the ruling "because it reflects a core pillar of our democracy: that government officials may not threaten citizens to silence criticism."
All of Most & Associates’ Lawyers Selected for Recognition by Super Lawyers
Attorneys William Most, Caroline Gabriel, David Lanser, and Hope Phelps have all been selected for the 2024 Louisiana Super Lawyers or Rising Stars lists.
Each year, no more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by the research team at Super Lawyers to receive this honor. We are proud that all of the lawyers in our firm were chosen for 2024!
After Officer-Caused Death of Autistic Child, Most & Associates Wins $1.25 Million Settlement Plus Changes to JPSO Officer Training
WWLTV reports that:
The family of a severely autistic teen has settled its wrongful death lawsuit against the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the shopping center where the boy died in JPSO custody in 2020 for $1.25 million.
But the parents of the 16 year old who died, Eric Parsa, pushed for more than just money in the settlement talks. They wanted additional training for JPSO deputies in how to handle people with severe autism.
In addition to compensation, the settlement requires the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office to retrain all its field officers next year with a special training program regarding persons with autism. That training will be developed by an expert from outside Sheriff’s Office.
Most & Associates obtained this victory in collaboration with The Cochran Firm Mid-South. We are incredibly proud of Eric’s parents in fighting so hard for justice. Because of their commitment, they have made it less likely that what happened to Eric will happen again.
William Most among the 2023 Top Lawyers for Labor & Employment, per New Orleans Magazine
We are proud to announce that William Most was selected by New Orleans Magazine to be among the 2023 Top Lawyers for Labor & Employment, as selected by New Orleans Magazine.
Each year, New Orleans Magazine allows local attorneys to vote for the top lawyers in a variety of categories. According to the magazine, the methodology is the following:
The voting was open to all licensed attorneys in New Orleans. They were asked which attorney, other than themselves, they would recommend in the New Orleans area. Each attorney was allowed to recommend up to three colleagues in each given legal specialty. Once the online nominations were complete, each nominee was carefully evaluated on the basis of the survey results, the legitimacy of their license and their current standing with the State Bar Association of Louisiana. Attorneys who received the highest number of votes in each specialty are reflected in the following list.
Thank you to all our colleagues who voted!
INJUNCTION VICTORY: Most & Associates Wins Court Order Halting Illegal Attempt to Rezone Property in St. John the Baptist Parish
Today, Judge Nghana Lewis of the 40th Judicial District in Louisiana ordered St. John the Baptist Parish to halt consideration of whether to rezone land where a wealthy developer is seeking to build one of the world’s largest grain terminals.
The ruling is a key victory for Most & Associates’ client The Descendants Project, which has sought to block construction of the proposed massive grain terminal by Greenfield Louisiana LLC. On Thursday, Dr. Joy Banner, a co-founder of the Descendants Project, testified that the St. John the Baptist Parish Council violated a judge’s order when it requested that the planning commission rezone the land from residential to heavy industrial use — a step toward allowing the controversial project to move forward.
Judge Lewis wrote in the order that the Parish's rezoning application is "at best, incomplete, and, at wors[t], dissembling" because it says that the property is currently agricultural. The judge determined the Parish's failure to update its zoning maps after a separate ruling "points to a lack of transparency and forthrightness by Parish government."
Judge Lewis issued an order prohibiting "consideration of, processing of, or any legal action taken, whatsoever" on the St. John the Baptist Parish's rezoning application until the Court orders otherwise.
APPELLATE VICTORY: Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Grants Overdetention Win
For the past five years, Most & Associates and Casey Denson Law have been representing Ellis Ray Hicks, a man who was held in prison two months past the end of his sentence.
Yesterday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled in Mr. Hicks’ favor, denying qualified immunity to some of the prison officials who illegally detained him.
Read the opinion here: https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/22/22-30184-CV0.pdf
PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION VICTORY in St. John the Baptist Parish
Today, attorneys Hope Phelps and William Most won a preliminary injunction on behalf of their client, The Descendants Project. The ruling prohibits St. John the Baptist Parish from affirming or acting under a 1990 rezoning ordinance that was previously nullified by the court.
The Descendants Project was formed by sisters Joy and Jo Banner of Wallace, La., to preserve and protect the health, land and lives of the Black descendant community in Louisiana’s River Parishes.
The Descendants Project is fighting the unlawful attempts of St. John the Baptist Parish to rezone historic land with ties to slavery on which Denver-based developer Greenfield Louisiana LLC is seeking to build an industrial grain terminal. The terminal would include 56 grain silos—one nearly as tall as the Statue of Liberty—that would increase dust, pollution, and explosion risk for area residents.
This ruling represents a major victory for The Descendants Project, as it affirms the irreparable harm that may occur if the parish continues to break the law.
APPELLATE VICTORY: With Unusual Speed, Fifth Circuit Unanimously Rules in Favor of Most & Associates' Client
On Wednesday, August 19, 2023, Most & Associates attorney William Most argued in front of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of our civil rights client, Jerry Rogers.
By 4:45 p.m. the same day, the Fifth Circuit panel issued a unanimous opinion ruling in favor of our client - and against the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff - on all claims.
Attorneys William Most and Hope Phelps with civil rights plaintiff Jerry Rogers.
The case involved the 2019 arrest of Rogers by the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office. The sheriff's office arrested Rogers because he had criticized a detective in private emails, calling the detective "clueless" when he failed to solve a high-profile murder.
But like everyone in the United States, Rogers has a right to the freedom of speech - and so Most & Associates took his case and fought for the vindication of that right.
Audio of the oral argument can be found at this link; Mr. Most’s portion begins at 18:10.
