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Contact: Darren Johnson, (631) 761-7062

April 17, 2007

Students Offer Testimonials of Disorder and Corruption
Still In New Orleans

Central Islip, N.Y. – Back from what still is a chaotic situation in New Orleans' poorest areas, Touro Law students on Tuesday, April 17, offered testimonials of their recent experiences there. The students cited corruption and institutionalized racism as two main roadblocks in helping the city rebuild itself. Still, working through the national Student Hurricane Network, 32 Touro students gave up their spring breaks and helped solve some of the myriad legal issues in New Orleans that find homeowners unknowingly losing property and some convicts serving longer than prescribed sentences because the courts are overloaded.

Students also took a photo essay of their trip (pictured).

Third-year student Lauren Silverman, working for the New Orleans Public Defender's Office, said, "We went into jail cells and interviewed clients. One man was incarcerated six months for a crime that should have received 30 days. His family didn't know where he was. We made a motion and got him out."

"We interviewed people coming out of prison, and they were very willing to tell their stories," said Konstantin Burshteyn, a first-year student. "The system is in such disarray, one person was arrested three times on the same warrant. ... We notified released prisoners of their rights."

Several students worked on notifying homeowners, most of whom were gone from the most affected region, the 9th Ward, that the city had placed notices on their houses that the houses were slated for demolition. "We went house to house and determined if homeowners were properly notified," said Rachel Grinspan, a first-year student. "Many owners were entitled to money that they had not known about."

Many homeowners were not aware of their rights. Other residents simply wanted to fix up their properties, but were ensnared by red tape.

"We went to the Building Department and jumped through hoops for the homeowners and got them the permits that they needed to rebuild," said Richard Santos, a first-year student who worked for Common Ground. "We also came up with a step-by-step list for residents. City Hall adopted these guidelines and published this Touro pamphlet for all the affected residents."

"The government was not involved in notifying people of their rights. People had never seen information packets," said James Gibbons, a second-year student. "It seems that much of the problem is because of police corruption and government corruption that has been going on for decades there. Maybe the hurricane brought these things to light."

Third-year student Lisa Canarack organized the group effort. Second-year student Ray Malone organized field essays and photos. Advisor for the group was Touro Director of Career Development and Public Interest Thomas Maligno. Funding for the trip was arranged by Dean Lawrence Raful. The New Orleans agencies and the students who helped: