Awaiting trial on charges he directed deputies to beat jail inmates, Iberia Parish Sheriff Louis Ackal is asking a federal appeals court to overrule a mysterious decision to transfer his case to a different judge.
In March, U.S. District Judge Patricia Minaldi was removed from the cases against Ackal and 11 of his subordinates without explanation.
Ackal's attorney, John McLindon, asked the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday to return the case to Minaldi. McLindon's court filing claims Minaldi's removal from the case violated court rules.
The chief judge for the Western District of Louisiana reassigned the cases to a different judge four days after Minaldi abruptly ended a hearing related to the case against Ackal. Minaldi didn't disclose a reason on the record.