In what must be considered a legal bombshell, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has amended her lawsuit against the Caddo Commission and seven Commissioners alleging that the ratification vote on June 21, 2025 of the resolution honoring Bernie Sanders was unlawful.
The new pleadings state that the purported "ratification" was NOT conducted by a voice vote. The Commissioners used an electronic voting system installed in the commission chambers.
The pleadings cite the governing law to be Louisiana Revised Statutes 42:14(C) which states:
"All votes made by members of a public body shall be VIVA VOCE and shall be recorded in the minutes, journal, or other official, written proceedings of the body, which shall be a public document."
The pleadings cite the case of Bossier City that defined VIVA VOCE as "with living voice, by word or mouth."
In addition to the purported ratification, the pleadings allege that the defect is not limited to the votes on June 21, 2025, or July 3, 2025 resolutions, stating that all votes on that date were unlawful.
The amended pleadings ask for a much broader judgment declaring that "any ordinances, resolutions, or other official actions purportedly adopted by electronic vote rather than VIVA VOCE vote are likewise defective and null."
The AG is also seeking an injunction directing the Commission and its members to strictly comply with the Open Meetings Law, including the requirement that all votes be VIVA VOCE and all resolutions and ordinances be adopted in compliance with the Open Meetings Law.
These new pleadings immediately raise the issue of the legality of ALL electronic votes taken by the Caddo Commission and by other elected bodies including the Shreveport City Council and the Caddo School Board.