A New Orleans judge has ruled that the New Orleans City Council’s travel ban against the mayor is illegal and unconstitutional.
Judge Jennifer Medley made the ruling on Wednesday in Civil District Court.
This comes after Judge Sidney Cates ruled that the travel ban violated the city’s Home Rule Charter, extending Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s temporary restraining order allowing her to travel.
The city council can appeal the decision.
WDSU reached out to New Orleans City Council President JP Morrell, Cantrell’s administration, and the council’s attorney for a statement regarding the ruling.
At the time of this publication, a response had not been received from Morrell.
The City of New Orleans issued the following statement regarding the ruling:
“Today, Civil District Court Judge Jennifer Medley ruled that the New Orleans City Council’s travel ban ordinances are unconstitutional and illegal, and therefore null and void. Further, the Judge ruled that their travel ban ordinances violated the City’s Home Rule Charter. The Judge reiterated that in Orleans Parish, we have a strong Mayor form of government.
“This is the third time the courts have agreed with the Administration, that the Council is exceeding its charter-granted authority as the legislative branch of government.”
The New Orleans City Council Attorney Adam Swensek issued the following statement:
“The Council does not yet have a written ruling and is still in the process of assessing our next steps.
“We maintain that the Constitution does not prohibit the Council from regulating publicly funded travel by city employees. The Council will discuss this matter tomorrow in executive session, but likely will appeal.”
The travel ban ordinance was passed in response to Cantrell’s office backing out of a deal to provide funding to New Orleans public schools.
The ordinance aimed to limit the mayor’s travel due to her office’s claim that the city had a funding crisis that prevented them from holding up their part of the deal.
The council argued that if the city couldn’t fund schools, it shouldn’t fund the mayor’s travel.
Cantrell has traveled in recent weeks to Washington, D.C., France, and Tampa, Florida.
READ MORE:Judge rules New Orleans City Council’s travel ban illegal and unconstitutional
