DROUGHT COMING UP IN A MOMENT. PLUS, THE TROPICS. ALL RIGHT. A LOT TO GET TO, MARGARET, THANK YOU. WELL, JUSTICE DELAYED AGAIN FOR THE FAMILY OF FORMER SAINTS PLAYER WILL SMITH, THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAYS CARDELL HAYES WAS WAS SET TO TAKE A DEAL TODAY, PLEADING GUILTY AS CHARGED IN THE CASE. BUT LATE THIS MORNING, WE LEARNED THAT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. INSTEAD, A NEW TRIAL DATE HAS BEEN SET FOR EARLY NEXT YEAR. WDSU REPORTER MORGAN LENTES WAS IN THE COURTROOM AS ALL OF THIS UNFOLDED. SHE JOINS US LIVE WITH REACTION FROM BOTH SIDES. MORGAN. WELL, SMILA, IT WAS A WAR OF WORDS AFTER THIS MORNING’S HEARING. DA JASON WILLIAMS INSISTING TO REPORTERS THAT CARDELL HAYES WAS SET TO COME HERE TO TRIAL THIS MORNING AND TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT DEADLY SHOOTING. BUT HIS ATTORNEYS SAY THAT WAS WRONG. CARDELL WAS NEVER GOING TO COME IN THIS MORNING AND PLEAD GUILTY. WE MAY NEVER KNOW WHAT CARDELL HAYES REALLY PLANNED TO DO WEDNESDAY MORNING AS HE WALKED INTO COURT WITH ONE OF HIS LAWYERS. BUT AFTER THE HEARING, THEY INSISTED HE ACTED IN SELF DEFENSE. I KNOW YOU ALL DON’T GET TO TALK TO THEM, BUT DESPITE HOW BIG OF A HUMAN BEING HE IS, HE’S ACTUALLY A TEDDY BEAR. BUT DISTRICT ATTORNEY JASON WILLIAMS DISAGREES, SAYING HE AND WILL SMITH’S FAMILY ARE DEEPLY FRUSTRATED THAT THE POTENTIAL PLEA FELL THROUGH AS WILLIAMS SPOKE WITH REPORTERS, THE VICTIM’S WIDOW AND FELLOW VICTIM LOOKED ON CLEARLY IN PAIN. ROCKWELL SMITH WAS ALSO SHOT IN APRIL OF 2016. IN WHAT INVESTIGATORS CALL A ROAD RAGE INCIDENT TURNED DEADLY. I WANT TO BE AS RESPECTFUL AS POSSIBLE. DOES RICK HELL OR ANY OF THE FAMILY WANT TO SAY ANYTHING? SHE DOES NOT WANT TO SPEAK. YOU KNOW, IT’S HARD ENOUGH TO COME BACK TO NEW ORLEANS THINKING THAT THIS CHAPTER WAS GOING TO END AND HAVE SOME REAL FINALITY TODAY. INSTEAD, THE CASE WILL NOW STRETCH INTO ITS EIGHTH YEAR. THE JUDGE SETTING A NEW TRIAL DATE FOR EARLY FEBRUARY 2024. HAYES SECURED THAT SECOND TRIAL AFTER THE US SUPREME COURT RULED NON-UNANIMOUS CONVICTIONS WERE UNCONSTITUTIONAL. HIS ATTORNEY, JOHN FULLER, WAS ASKED ABOUT THE RISK OF GOING BEFORE A JURY AGAIN. HE SAID THIS SO EVERY CHILD IN FACT, IS A GAMBLE. BUT WE HAVE NO FEAR OF IT. NEITHER DOES THE DA WHO SAYS HIS TEAM WAS READY FOR TRIAL. THIS WEEK. I CAN TELL YOU THAT MATT AND I WERE PREPARED TO GO FORWARD WITH TRIAL ON MONDAY, AND I WISH WE WERE IN THE THIRD DAY OF TRIAL RIGHT NOW. AND IT IS WORTH MENTIONING THAT NEW TRIAL IS SET FOR FEBRUARY FIFTH, 2024. THAT IS EXACTLY ONE WEEK RATHER BEFORE THE CITY CELEBRATES MARDI GRAS. REPORTING LIVE IN NEW ORLEANS, I’M MORGAN LENTE