Many thoughts come to mind.
How about a big waste of time?
An attorney's delight--cha ching, cha ching, cha ching?
Abuse of the legal system?
Last Friday Caddo Commissioner Chris Kracman was deposed by Attorney Jerry Harper who represents the seven Democrat Commissioners named in litigation by Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. This lawsuit alleges violations of the Open Meetings Law involving the Bernie Sanders recognition resolution.
Kracman filed a complaint with the AG's office that was instrumental in the launch of the litigation.
Attorneys in the deposition room included Harper, John Nickelson representing the five Republican Commissioners, and Donna Frazier the Caddo Parish attorney. There may have been more attorneys in attendance.
The deposition commenced about 9:30 am and ended around 5:00 pm with a lunch break. Reportedly six of the seven Democrat Commissioners were in attendance at various times of the day.
Participating in the deposition by Zoom were three out of town attorneys. Two of these were from the AG's office and one represented Kracman.
Kracman is not a party in the AG lawsuit. However, he has been sued in his individual capacity by clients also represented by Harper. Kracman is accused of making defamatory comments, etc. against the owners of a Hosston truck stop.
Kracman has commenced fundraising efforts to pay his attorney fees. . Needless to say the long deposition ran up his tab.
For obvious reasons Kracman has been advised to not make any comments on both of the lawsuits including this deposition. Hopefully the deposition will be filed into the record and thus available to the public.
In the meantime, the money beat goes on.
Nickelson and Harper have been hired by the Parish, and their fees will be paid with public dollars. If Kracman is successful in defeating the lawsuit against him, then his attorney fees will be reimbursed by the Parish. Frazier is a Caddo Parish employee.
Kracman has formed a PAC to raise attorney fees for his defense:
KRAC PAC, Inc.
P.O. Box 1701
Prairieville, La. 70769
text (888) 444-8774
Needless to say, this litigation, both by the AG and against Kracman, is precedent setting in a bad way. These lawsuits certainly do not send a good message to the rest of the state, much less to businesses considering locating in Caddo Parish.