Private Property

Judicial neutrality is a constitutional cornerstone. When a person’s liberty or property is at stake, judicial orders must be free from even the appearance of bias or self-dealing. In Orleans Parish, Louisiana, Criminal District Court Judge Paul Bonin and private company ETOH Monitoring LLC have violated this fundamental tenet of due process. Judge Bonin required defendants to pay ETOH nearly $300 a month as a condition of avoiding jail or being released from ankle monitoring—all without disclosing his personal, professional, and political ties to ETOH’s owners.