DA Jason Williams's Declination Policy

Last verified: April 2026

Background

Jason Rogers Williams is a New Orleans native, a graduate of Tulane Law School, and a former criminal-defense attorney who built his name representing clients in high-profile cases in Orleans Parish criminal court. He served on the New Orleans City Council, including a term as Council President, before running for District Attorney in 2020. He campaigned explicitly as a reform prosecutor in the mold of Larry Krasner (Philadelphia) and Chesa Boudin (San Francisco).

He defeated former judge Keva Landrum in the December 2020 runoff with roughly 58% of the vote, and was inaugurated on January 11, 2021 as the first Black District Attorney in Orleans Parish history.

The Opening Moves

In his first weeks, Williams's office did three things that defined the office's posture:

1. Mass dismissal of pending non-violent cases. The office reviewed and dismissed thousands of pending cases that did not meet the new charging guidelines — the largest categorical drop in Orleans Parish DA history.
2. A formal declination policy on marijuana possession. Simple possession of marijuana — within the personal-use range — would not be accepted for prosecution from any law-enforcement agency, including Louisiana State Police on the interstates.
3. A reconstituted Civil Rights Division and Conviction Integrity Unit. The unit, headed by attorneys with experience at the Innocence Project New Orleans, began reviewing post-conviction claims at a pace not previously seen in the office.

The Cannabis Policy Specifically

The marijuana declination policy, as articulated in the office's published charging guidelines, treats simple possession as outside the office's prosecutorial priorities. The policy applies to:

• Municipal-level summonses — which the office does not handle (those go to the Municipal and Traffic Court of New Orleans).
• State-law referrals — that a state trooper or NOPD officer might pursue under LRS §40:966. The office's standing direction is to decline those.

The policy does NOT extend to:

• Distribution-quantity packaging or evidence of intent to distribute.
• Manufacturing.
• Cannabis paired with violent offenses, firearms, or other felonies.

The office has emphasized that the line between "personal use" and "intent to distribute" is one that requires actual evidence of distribution activity, not just quantity or packaging inferences.

Habitual-Offender Reform

Williams's office also announced that it would generally not use prior marijuana convictions as enhancement evidence under Louisiana's habitual offender law — a policy that had a much larger long-tail effect on sentencing in unrelated cases than the possession declination itself. Defendants charged with non-cannabis offenses who had old cannabis priors no longer faced enhanced sentencing on that basis.

The 2023 Tax-Fraud Trial and Acquittal

In June 2022, Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy and tax fraud related to allegedly underreported income from his law practice in years prior to taking office. The case went to trial in summer 2023 in the Eastern District of Louisiana. In July 2023, a federal jury acquitted Williams on all counts. He returned to office and continued serving without interruption.

The acquittal effectively ended the most serious challenge to his tenure. Recall efforts — which had organized in 2022 alongside a broader conservative pushback against reform prosecutors nationally — lost momentum, and by 2024 had not gathered the signatures required under Louisiana's stringent recall threshold.

April 2026 Status

⚠️ Orleans Parish District Attorney is a six-year term. Williams was elected in November–December 2020 and took office in January 2021, meaning his first term runs through the end of 2026, with the next election in fall 2026. As of April 2026, readers should verify (a) whether Williams has formally announced reelection, (b) whether any qualified challenger has filed, and (c) whether any new federal or state investigation has emerged.

Effect on NOPD Practices

The DA's declination policy has had a documented downstream effect on NOPD officer behavior. When an officer knows a charge will be declined at intake, the incentive to make the arrest in the first place collapses. NOPD's Operations Manual has been updated to reflect the cite-and-release mandate under §54-507, and field training emphasizes that custodial arrests for simple possession are disfavored.

That said, NOPD officers retain discretion to make arrests in cases involving:

• Cannabis paired with another offense (firearm, DUI, outstanding warrant).
• Distribution-quantity packaging.
• Cases occurring during the commission of another crime.

Related on this site: Louisiana HB 652, NOPD vs. LA State Police Troop B, New Orleans Code §54-507.