NSB wins summary judgment against Orleans Parish Sheriff in jail suicide case

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana has granted NSB clients’ motion for partial summary judgment against Marlin Gusman, the Sheriff of Orleans Parish, in the case brought by Coast Guard Commander William Goetzee’s surviving relatives for his 2011 suicide at the problem-plagued jail.  The Court agreed with the plaintiffs that the undisputed facts prove that the sheriff’s deputy assigned to continuously watch Mr. Goetzee to prevent him from committing suicide abandoned his post, causing Mr. Goetzee’s suicide, and that the Sheriff is responsible for Mr. Goetzee’s death.