Public defenders in Orleans Parish are hopeful that a new reform-minded district attorney, Jason Williams, will help them come up with innovative ways to address the thousands of open cases that are clogging the dockets at Criminal District Court due to months of COVID-19-related court closures and suspended jury trials — namely, by dismissing nonviolent, low-level cases, or sending defendants into a diversion program, which allows them to complete a court-ordered program in exchange for a later dismissal.
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