It’s 1 lawyer vs. 39 in court battle to release Hurricane Katrina records

The Times-Picayune
The one lawyer is representing The Times-Picayune and CNN, who have been fighting for four years to get access to records of the investigation into deaths at Memorial Medical Center after Hurricane Katrina flooded New Orleans. (ProPublica’s Sheri Fink won a Pulitzer for her story on the deaths.) Although a grand jury declined to indict anyone, the local district attorney is using a state law that allows records to be withheld if prosecution is “pending or reasonably anticipated.” How so? “Police and prosecutors get lucky every day,” said Fred Herman, who is representing Orleans Parish District Attorney Leon Cannizzaro, during  a court hearing Wednesday.