Members of the Louisiana Senate today begin preparations for a hearing next week on disciplinary action for Senator Troy Brown of Napoleonville who has twice pleaded "no contest" to domestic violence charges.
The Senate today will authorize issuing subpoenas and collecting documents for the start of disciplinary action.
Next Monday, members of the Senate will be asked either to expel Brown or suspend him for 6 weeks.
Meanwhile, Brown's lawyer is fighting the move. WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge reports:
Brown's attorney filed a petition Wednesday to block the resolutions from going forward. Brown says the proceedings would violate his right to due process because he won't have a "reasonable opportunity" to prepare for them.
The documents argue that no state senator in Louisiana or U.S. history has ever been removed from his position as a result of a no contest plea to a misdemeanor.
The resolution seeking Brown's expulsion has been sponsored by Republicans Sharon Hewitt of Slidell, Beth Mizell of Franklinton and Dan Claitor of Baton Rouge.
Democrat Senator Yvonne Dorsey Colomb of Baton Rouge has introduced another resolution calling for Brown to pay a fine and be suspended for 6 weeks.
Brown pleaded "no contest" to charges that he punched his girlfriend in the face in New Orleans in November 2015 and to charges that he bit his wife during an argument last summer.