Chief Justice Pascal Calogero of the Louisiana Supreme Court called upon the state legislature to provide adequate funding for indigent defendants in his State of the Judiciary address. The court had earlier ruled that judges may halt prosecutions in cases where funds have not been made available for an adequate defense. The Justice concluded:

As a Supreme Court Justice, I must be an advocate of compliance with the mandates of our state and federal constitutions, and therefore, I admonish you, simply, to do the right thing. Provide for a workable and adequately funded indigent defense system, so that another victim does not have to go through the agony of an overturned conviction and repeat of grueling trial testimony, or so that an innocent person is spared the ordeal of an unjust conviction and punishment. This is just one of your many challenges, as well as your responsibility. Let us show the people that our State is more than up to that challenge.

(2005 State of the Judiciary Address to the Louisiana Legislature, Pascal F. Calogero, Jr., Chief Justice, Supreme Court of Louisiana, May 3, 2005). See also Representation and New Voices.