New Orleans Prosecutors Not Immune in Suit Over Fake Subpoenas

The Orleans Parish District Attorney can’t escape claims based on the alleged use of fake subpoenas to pressure crime victims and witnesses into meeting with prosecutors, the Fifth Circuit said Tuesday.

District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro allegedly directed prosecutors to send fake subpoenas, which included the office’s official seal that threatened fines and imprisonment for failing to disobey. Five crime witnesses and victims who received the fake subpoenas sued Cannizzaro and other attorneys in the office for violating their constitutional rights.

The prosecutors don’t necessarily have absolute immunity from the claims because they may have been acting outside of their official ...