Reply #86: "Martial law" does not exist in Louisiana law. [View All]

[BrightKnight]

There is no such thing as martial law in Louisiana Law. There is the Emergency and Disaster Act that allows local government officials to do things like seizing properly. It does NOT cede authority to the federal government.

Would you really want Bush directly governing NOLA?

The Louisiana Attorney General's office late Tuesday issued a number of clarifications concerning the "martial law" assertions made earlier in the day by local officials and law enforcement agents in the wake of devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. According to the AG's office, no such term exists in Louisiana state law. The declaration of a state of emergency issued by Gov. Kathleen Blanco on Friday and set to continue for at least a month does, however, give officials power to suspend civil liberties in the process of restoring order, and the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act of 1993 gives the governor and heads of parishes power to commandeer property. The New Orleans Times-Picayune has more.

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2005/08/update-louisiana-martial-law.php