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Furthermore Governor Blanco's failure to declare martial law means that the accused must be freed for failure to bring them to a speedy trial.

I hope you don't practice criminal law in Louisiana!

Here's a summary of the rules for that state:

"Speedy Trial rights in Louisiana

In Louisiana, you have the right to be charged within the following time periods:

* If you are in custody after an arrest, you must be charged within 45 days of the arrest if you are being held for a misdemeanor and within 60 days of the arrest if you are being held for a felony.
* If you are not in custody, you must be charged within 90 days of the arrest if you are booked with a misdemeanor and 150 days of the arrest if you are booked with a felony.

You are required to be arraigned within 30 days of the filing of the charges against you unless there is “just cause” for a longer delay. Just cause is any grounds beyond the control of the State of Louisiana or the court.

If you file a motion for a speedy trial, your trial must begin within 120 days if you are in custody or within 180 days if you are not in custody. "

All the impacted state courts are closed through at least October 1, 2005 ( http://www.lsba.org/home/information_for_other_louisian.asp ) so the "just cause" requirement is met. The only folks who might benefit are those who filed a Motion for Speedy Trial before the hurricane, and for whom the date might have fallen in September.

And on what are you basing your conclusion that the formal declaration of a state of emergency would suspend these dates?

I'm glad to hear that Louisiana law is much more reasonable than California's on this point. "Just cause" for delay certainly entails the physical destruction of the courthouses.

California speedy trial rights can only be suspended by a formal proclamation, by the appropriate executive officer (mayor or governor) of a state of emergency or martial law, or by an act of the legislature. And our speedy trial statute has shorter time periods.