H2 LAW, LLC

11/05/2025

Congratulations to Jonathan Sims, whose 2016 sentence to twenty-five years was vacated this morning by Judge Camille Buras. Along with his established record of rehabilitation, Mr. Sims was instrumental in preventing the violent sexual assault of a female DOC officer, helping to restrain the suspect until authorities arrived. Calling his conduct "the very thing [Louisiana v.] Dorthey was meant to address," Judge Buras exercised her discretion under the law to sentence Mr. Sims below the minimum mandatory required by statute. He was resentenced to thirteen years in DOC custody. He has already served eleven and will be released to his family by 2027.

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04/02/2025

Congratulations to Gerald Williams. The Louisiana Supreme Court has granted writs in Mr. Williams' civil case against the Department of Corrections.

In 1986, Mr. Williams was sentenced to 99 years for an Armed Robbery. He was released on parole on 2013. On 2024, Mr. Williams pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense. The maximum sentence was 90 days in parish jail. Mr. Williams was not represented by an attorney and was not advised by the Court or the State that his misdemeanor plea would result in revocation of his parole and his return to prison to serve the remainder of his 70-year sentence, a sentence that will costs Louisiana taxpayers approximately $77,000 per year.

The LASC will hear oral arguments on May 5, 2025

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10/10/2024

Congratulations to Charles Chandler. It seems the U.S. Magistrate for the Western District did not agree with our esteemed state Supreme Court that the District Attorney's personal secretary made a good juror on a criminal case prosecuted by her boss. The Magistrate has recommended Habeas relief and a new trial. While this is not the final word on the matter, the Magistrate's well researched Report and Recommendation is a huge step toward correcting a gross legal error and is an indictment of the LASC's defective reasoning.

10/02/2024

Congratulations to Jarvis Turner. After a very long and arduous legal battle, Jarvis' 2006 conviction and 75-sentence for Armed Robbery was overturned today. An Orleans Parish judge found that Jarvis' counsel unconstitutionally abridged Jarvis' right to testify on his own behalf.

06/28/2024

06/27/2024

A very special congratulations to Kevin King. After serving 34 years of a mandatory life sentence, Kevin will be released today. He is 53 years old.

Kevin filed for post-conviction relief in 2022 after discovering evidence that the State failed to disclose two eyewitness misidentifications that may have changed the outcome of his trial. The State acknowledged that Kevin's petition had merit and the victim's family offered their support and forgiveness. Kevin accepted a reduced sentence of 33 years and will be eligible for release immediately.

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12/14/2023

Congratulations to Warkaneski Scott. In 2017, Mr. Scott was sentenced to twenty years for being a convicted felon with a firearm. The sentencing court emphatically ordered the sentence with parole eligibility (after serving 75%) but the Department of Corrections did not recognize the sentence, forcing Mr. Scott to serve the entire twenty years. Today, the Hon. Judge Timothy Ellender corrected the error, re-sentencing Mr. Scott to twelve years with credit for time served.

12/03/2023

Congratulations to John Fussell. The State has conceded that Mr. Fussell's February 2022 non-unanimous jury verdict for Second-Degree Murder--coming almost two years after the U.S. Supreme Court declared the practice unconstitutional in Ramos v. Louisiana--is illegal, teeing the matter for the Second Circuit to remand it for a new trial.

09/13/2023

Congratulations to Derrick Odomes. In 2011, Mr. Odomes received a non-mandatory life sentence as a fourth-time felony offender. With one exception, his priors were non-violent, non-drug, petty property offenses. His trial lawyer did not object to the sentence, seek reconsideration, or present mitigating evidence. As a result, Mr. Odomes was denied appellate review on the excessiveness of his sentence.

Until yesterday. The 17th Judicial District Court granted post-conviction relief, granting an out-of-time appeal. This will permit Mr. Odomes to finally obtain review of his sentence on appeal, something he should have received long ago.

06/28/2023

Success for H2 Law! After hearing oral arguments, the U.S. Fifth Circuit vacated the judgment of the U.S. District Court.

In December 2022, the District Court revoked our client's supervised release and re-sentenced him to an additional year in federal prison, in part, for failing to complete mental health treatment upon his release. The Fifth Circuit held that the District Court erred in revoking our client without conducting a competency hearing to ensure he was mentally sound, understood the proceedings against him, and could assist his counsel in his defense.

04/18/2023

After 29 years in prison, an Orleans Parish Judge resentenced our client, Carl Lee Smith, on Friday, April 14, providing for his immediate release. Mr. Smith was sentenced to life by a 10 to 2 "Jim Crow" jury for a 1993 Second-Degree Murder. Affidavits obtained since his incarceration suggest that an alleged eyewitness to the shooting did not come upon the scene until after law enforcement had arrived. She admitted being coached by police to identify Mr. Smith and his co-defendant Derrick Banks.

Special thanks to the Civil Rights Division of the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office for their role in helping bringing this matter before the Court.

03/15/2023

The convictions of Javan Marshall and Alfred Williams have again been overturned. After an appeal to the Fourth Circuit resulted in a remand for further proceedings, Judge Darryl Derbigny again found Marshall's and Williams' rights were violated by trial counsel who failed to call a known defense witness.

The testimony of Renard Price would have asserted that NOPD officers opened fire on the defendants without provocation. This testimony would have undermined the State's claim that officers acted only in self-defense when unloading a fusillade on the vehicle occupied by Williams and Marshall.