VILLE PLATTE ROTARY CLUB MEETING

APRIL 12, 2016

     The Rotary Club of Ville Platte today (Tuesday) heard from 13^th District Court, Division B Judge Chuck West.

      Judge West shared his experiences as a new judge to conduct three murder cases in two months. All three cases ended with a guilty verdict for the defendants.

      Judge West noted that some 475-500 potential jurors subpoenaed to choose three juries. In the last trial, the judge remarked that it took from 12 noon to 9:30 at night to choose the 14 person jury to hear the case.

    The trials took a lot of coordination from a lot of agencies including having a DNA expert brought in from Pennsylvania for one of the trials. Extra police was called in from the sheriff’s office, city police and city marshal to handle the security.

    “It is a big endeavor in time and money”, said Judge West adding that “it puts a strain on the parish on manpower and resources”. The judge commended the District Attorney’s office and everyone involved.

   There are no more murder trails scheduled for Division B however one is scheduled for Division A. Judge West was the special guest of Rotarian Jimmy LeBlanc.

    In other rotary news, President Mitch Fontenot reminded club members:

--a clean up is planned for the Heritage Park on Saturday April 23 from 8:30am to 12 noon;

--Shots for Tots is planned for the Health Unit Thursday April 28.