Jury acquits New Orleans’ progressive district attorney of tax fraud charges

The case marks a significant victory for a nationwide movement of reformist prosecutors in the US

New Orleans's district attorney, Jason Williams, has been acquitted of all charges in a controversial tax fraud trial, clearing a longstanding cloud over his political future and allowing the progressive prosecutor to remain in office in a city that has long been one of America's leading incarcerators.

Williams, along with his private practice law partner Nicole Burdett, faced a 10-count federal indictment accusing the pair of conspiring to evade taxes over a five-year period by allegedly inflating business expenses and failing to file appropriate documentation for cash payments received by the law firm.