Louisiana Republicans Abolish Orleans Parish Clerk Post Before Calvin Duncan Takes Office

Louisiana Republicans abolished the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court position days before Calvin Duncan, an exoneree who won the seat, was set to take office.

“Louisiana Republicans eliminate elected position days before an exoneree was set to take office Louisiana Republicans eliminate elected position days before an exoneree was set to take office BATON ROUGE, La”

Associated Press

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry “quietly signed legislation abolishing the longstanding Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court position into law Thursday,” according to Louisiana Secretary of State spokesperson Trey Williams, as reported by the Associated Press.

Associated Press

The AP said Republicans framed the move as “a consolidation effort meant to make the local judicial system more efficient and cut costs,” while Democrats described it as “government overreach” that “infringes on a predominately Black parish’s decision at the polls.”

Duncan, who “spent nearly 30 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit,” “easily won election” in November and was set to take office “next Monday,” the AP reported.

The AP also reported that Duncan asked a federal judge to allow him to take office as scheduled.

In a separate AP account carried by Bitacora.uy, the same core timeline was described: “Louisiana Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to eliminate Duncan’s new post” and “Duncan’s swearing-in is scheduled for May 4.”

The AP further reported that Landry did not respond immediately to requests for comment, even as the governor’s office defended the change as efficiency-driven.

Republicans said the abolition was part of a broader effort to streamline the Orleans Parish judiciary by consolidating court clerk roles.

The AP reported that the law “consolidates two court clerk positions Republicans say the legislation consolidates the civil and criminal court clerks’ offices in Orleans Parish, putting it in line with all other parishes in the state, which have single clerk’s office.”

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Under the plan described by the AP, “The civil clerk position would remain and absorb the criminal clerk’s role,” while the civil and criminal clerks had “separate physical offices and different case management systems.”

The AP also tied the change to cost and efficiency claims, saying “Eliminating the clerk position saves the state about $27,000 and the city $233,000 according to the office of the legislative auditor,” and that the long-term costs of consolidation were “unknown.”

The AP added that “The legislation also shifts about $1.17 million in state expenditures to the parish.”

The governor told the AP that eliminating Duncan’s elected office was about improving government efficiency and “cleaning up a system in Orleans Parish that has been plagued by dysfunction and corruption for years.”

Republican Sen. Jay Morris, the bill’s author, told lawmakers in April that the goal was to implement the clerk consolidation before Duncan could start a four-year term, and he acknowledged he expected lawsuits but believed the change “to be constitutional.”

Duncan and Democrats portrayed the abolition as retaliation against an exoneree and as an attempt to override voters’ choice in a predominantly Black parish.

The AP quoted Duncan saying, “It’s a sad thing to see the state government repeating what happened to Black public officials during Reconstruction,” and added that he vowed, “They will do what they do, and I will do whatever I have to do to vindicate the voters of New Orleans and make sure that what happened to me never happens to anybody else.”

The AP also reported that Duncan’s murder conviction was vacated in 2021 after evidence emerged that police officers “had lied in court,” and that he “has vowed to help fix the system that once failed him.”

In a legislative committee hearing in April, the AP quoted Rep. Mandie Landry saying, “We’re doing something because powerful people don’t like him,” and described the Republican efforts as “atrocious.”

Another Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Edmond Jordan, told Morris that the bill “infringes on a predominately Black parish’s decision at the polls,” and the AP quoted him directly: “Mr. Duncan was elected by 68% of the vote in a city that’s majority African American. This is the will of the people, and what your bill attempts to do is usurp the will of the people.”

The Bitacora.uy account added that Duncan told AP, “What this bill does is to say: ‘Thanks, but you wasted your time.’ It deprives rights from everyone.”

It also reported that Duncan’s supporters held a ceremonial swearing in, with “Hundreds of people gathered on the steps of the Orleans Parish criminal courthouse to support the exoneree,” before his scheduled May 4 swearing-in.

Republicans acknowledged the political timing and framed it as constitutional while anticipating legal challenges.

The AP reported that the bill’s Republican author, Sen. Jay Morris, said the goal was “to implement the clerk consolidation before Duncan takes office, preventing him from starting a four-year term,” and that Morris “has acknowledged that he expects lawsuits to be filed because of this law but believes the change to be constitutional.”

Associated Press

The AP quoted Morris’s concession to lawmakers: “It’s unfortunate for Mr. Duncan, I concede that,” and added his reasoning that “He seems very nice, but we don’t make policy around here for just one person.”

The AP also said the consolidation was part of a broader GOP effort during the legislative session “to overhaul the judiciary in New Orleans — including bills that propose abolishing several other elected judicial positions in the parish.”

It further stated that those other jobs would be eliminated “further down the line, allowing officials to serve out their terms,” but that Duncan’s post would be eliminated before he could begin.

The Bitacora.uy account added that the bill “would take effect immediately upon signature by the governor,” and it described the legislative path as “on track to be ratified by the Republican-controlled House and signed by Landry.”

The AP also included a warning from Senate Democrat Royce Duplessis, who said, “I’ve never seen money spent so atrociously,” and added, “history will have a record.”

The stakes described in the reporting extend beyond Duncan’s personal situation to questions about voter disenfranchisement and the future of elected judicial roles in Louisiana.

“Louisiana Republicans eliminate elected position days before an exoneree was set to take office Louisiana Republicans eliminate elected position days before an exoneree was set to take office BATON ROUGE, La”

Associated Press

The AP said “Move spurs concerns about disenfranchisement,” and described Orleans Parish as “a Democratic hub with a predominantly Black electorate.”

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It quoted Rep. Edmond Jordan’s argument that the bill would “usurp the will of the people,” tying that to Duncan’s election by “68% of the vote” in “a city that’s majority African American.”

The AP also connected the controversy to broader voting rights concerns, saying the worry was “a heightened worry in a deeply red state that has been leading efforts to gut the Voting Rights Act.”

Bitacora.uy similarly framed the change as a rush to eliminate the post so Duncan “cannot serve,” and described the state as “deeply red” and “leading efforts to gut the Voting Rights Act.”

The AP reported that Duncan “has asked a federal judge to allow him to take office as scheduled,” and SSBCrack said he “has approached a federal judge, seeking permission to assume the role he was elected to.”

With the law taking effect immediately and Republicans saying they expect lawsuits, the sources depict a legal and political standoff over whether voters’ choice can be implemented as scheduled.