Judge rejects Painter’s plea for dismissal of federal charges

Murphy Painter’s plea to dismiss all the federal charges against him has been rejected, and his trial has once again been rescheduled. U.S. District Judge James Brady recently denied a motion to throw out all 42 counts of computer fraud, making false statements, and aggravated identity theft resulting from his alleged misuse of computerized criminal history and motor vehicle databases while Painter was commissioner of the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. Painter’s attorney, Tim Meche of New Orleans, had argued in an October motion that the government was “overreaching” in its charges. In a memo to the judge, the attorney implies that Painter is merely the victim of political retribution from the governor’s office for failing to issue an alcohol and beverage permit for Champions Square, being built outside the Superdome after the New Orleans Saints won Super Bowl XLIV. Meche adds that background checks are “exercised at astounding rates,” noting that Louisiana law enforcement personnel ran more than 41 million of them in 2010—the equivalent of nine for each of the state’s 4.5 million residents. “It is exceedingly rare for a government employee to be criminally prosecuted with even a misdemeanor offense for improperly accessing a criminal justice database,” Meche writes. “Here, however, Mr. Painter has been charged with both felony and misdemeanor criminal misconduct.” An Inspector General’s investigation into Painter’s actions uncovered illegal searches on 1,150 people between 2005 and 2010. Painter was indicted in May 2012 and has pleaded not guilty. Last week, Brady again rescheduled Painter’s trial, this time for May 28. —Penny Font