On April 16, 2026, the New Orleans City Council voted to approve a controversial law enforcement program known as the “Drone as First Responder” program. The program would launch drones equipped with high-definition cameras, thermal sensors, and live video streams into the French Quarter to respond to 911 calls. It would cost over $740,000, of which $500,000 would be covered by an anonymous private investor. Residents of New Orleans have opposed the drone program and have organized against it.

In holding the April 16 meeting, the New Orleans City Council failed to comply with Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law. The City Council significantly shortened public comment, cherry-picked who would speak, voted on the proposal without announcing which agenda item it was voting on, voted without a verbal second to the motion, and voted without a voice vote – all of which violate Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law and the Louisiana Constitution. 

On June 15, 2026, on behalf of Eye on Surveillance (“EOS”), Voice of the Experienced (“VOTE”), and New Orleans residents Tania Wolf (a member of Southeast Dignity not Detention Coalition), Edith Romero (an EOS member), Alex Jaouiche (also an EOS member), Bruce Reilly (VOTE staff), and Sonni Mun (EOS member), the Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsel Bill Quigley filed a petition in Orleans Parish Civil Court against the New Orleans City Council and the French Quarter Economic Development District Governing Authority, alleging that they violated Louisiana’s Open Meetings Laws and the Louisiana Constitution, which guarantee their rights to observe and participate in democratic processes of public deliberation. Among other relief, the petitioners seek a declaratory judgment that the City Council convened, participated, and took actions at the April 16, 2026, French Quarter Economic Development District public meeting that violated requirements under the Louisiana Constitution and the Open Meetings Law, and that defendants' April 16, 2026, vote on the drone program is void and without legal effect. They also seek an injunction that requires defendants to adhere to the Open Meetings Law in noticing, reconvening, and administering a French Quarter Economic Development District meeting to reconsider and recall its April 16, 2026, vote on the drone program.