In Orleans Parish, after people were sentenced in court, the Sheriff had a policy that his staff would load the sentencing paperwork into a van and drive it to the DOC in Baton Rouge - but only once a week.

This week, the Eastern District of Louisiana ruled in a lawsuit brought by Most & Associates that the policy "necessarily results in the overdetention of inmates who are eligible for immediate release upon sentencing."

This is an important step towards holding the Sheriff and DOC accountable for the thousands of people who are held past their release dates in Louisiana each year.

Watch the WDSU coverage of the ruling here.

Read the court’s order here.