H2 LAW, LLC

06/04/2026

A link to my oral argument before the U.S. Fifth Circuit in Charles Chandler v. Timothy Hooper can be found below. The central issue is whether trial counsel was ineffective for permitting the District Attorney's personal secretary to sit on the jury in a case her boss was trying. I'm all ears if anyone can give me a satisfactory argument in favor.

06/04/2026

Congratulations (again) to Gerald Williams. It has been a long and arduous journey to the Louisiana Supreme Court and back to Bossier City Court. Thankfully, on May 26 Mr. Williams successfully withdrew his 2021 plea of guilty to one count of Simple Assault. Unrepresented by counsel, Mr. Williams had not been advised that his plea to a misdemeanor offense carrying no more than 90 days would result in revocation of his parole for a 1985 offense, resulting in a 70-year sentence.

03/18/2026

Congratulations to David Kennedy. Mr. Kennedy's 15-year sentence for Aggravated Flight was overturned by the Second Circuit as illegal and constitutionally excessive. The maximum sentence available at the time of Mr. Kennedy's offense was five years. However, by the time of his plea and sentence, the law had changed. Accordingly, the District Court sentencing Mr. Kennedy to 15 years, applying the incorrect version of the statute. Today, the Second Circuit corrected the error, ordering that Mr. Kennedy be resentenced to no more than five years.

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.