By KEVIN McGILL / Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- The legal tussle over the costs of reforming the notoriously dangerous New Orleans jail is about to resume in a federal courtroom, where lawyers are expected to press the case that the sheriff doesn't need more money from the city to implement court-ordered improvements aimed at ending violence, poor security and inadequate health care.
A hearing set for Wednesday in U.S. District Judge Lance Africk's courtroom is a continuation of proceedings last month during which the city's lawyer in the case, Harry Rosenberg, questioned Sheriff Marlin Gusman for hours about jail expenses, including a roughly $1.7 million annual expense on outside legal fees for one firm -- an arrangement Gusman said has been in effect since before he was elected in 2004.