Harahan council appoints special prosecutor and magistrate for regulatory case MR2699

Harahan, La. — At the start of the Sept. 4 special meeting, the Harahan City Council unanimously approved the appointment of a special prosecutor and a special magistrate to handle a rehearing in the mayor’s court regulatory case titled City of Harahan v. Errol Andrew and Carol Stamm (regulatory case MR2699).

Councilman Asville moved to add the regulatory matter (MR2699) to new business and to appoint Joshua Vanderhoof as special prosecutor and Steven Pettit as special magistrate; Councilman Riggs seconded the motion. Council members voted 5–0 in favor of the appointments.

Context and next steps: council members and staff said the mayor’s court prosecutor and magistrate recused themselves and that the matter — described in the meeting as arising from a neighborhood dispute about purple martin gourds and related bird-dropping concerns — has been placed back on the regulatory docket. Staff said the reappointments are to ensure the case proceeds on the next available docket; the council recorded no further directive or settlement during the meeting.

The council’s action recorded the appointments and directed that the matter be scheduled for the next regulatory/magistrate hearing.