{"id":363,"date":"2026-07-05T19:47:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:47:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=363"},"modified":"2026-07-05T19:47:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T14:47:58","slug":"a-grand-jury-indicts-louisianas-attorney-general-in-a-fight-over-changes-to-the-local-courts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=363","title":{"rendered":"A grand jury indicts Louisiana&#8217;s attorney general in a fight over changes to the local courts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"prism-article-body\">\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao MvWXB TjIXL aGjvy ebVHC \">Louisiana\u2019s Republican attorney general was indicted Thursday on criminal charges by a grand jury in New Orleans, accused of trying to intimidate local officials who fought a law enacted by GOP legislators to overhaul the local courts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Attorney General Liz Murrill told eight New Orleans officials, including Mayor Helena Moreno and District Attorney Jason Williams, that they could face removal from their jobs for opposing the law. It <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/new-orleans-clerk-calvin-duncan-db965c224ee56d8751c764f406442d03\">eliminated the position<\/a> of Orleans Parish criminal court clerk after a man who spent decades in prison for a wrongful conviction <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/new-orleans-clerk-calvin-duncan-dc0ca1c86bcc313b4e5af43ed623fa15\">was elected to the post<\/a> with 68% of the vote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Legislators approved the law at Republican Gov. Jeff Landry\u2019s urging just days before Calvin Duncan was to take office in May. Duncan\u2019s supporters saw it as a move by a majority white conservative Legislature to thwart the will of voters in a predominantly Black Democratic hub in a red state.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Duncan was a jailhouse lawyer who later graduated from law school. He founded a nonprofit dedicated to expanding incarcerated people\u2019s access to the court system and was the driving force behind a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/a4f065037299491913827b7d8eda9023\">nonunanimous jury convictions<\/a>. Murrill and other Louisiana officials have long denied his innocence even though he is listed on the National Registry of Exonerations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Bond for Murrill was set at $400,000 on Thursday, according to court records. Landry slammed the indictment in a social media post on Thursday, promising to pardon Murrill \u201cas fast as the law allows.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \"> \u201cThe criminal justice system is a circus at its finest in Orleans and we will not have any of that!\u201d he wrote on X, where he called the system a \u201cKangaroo court.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The Republican Attorneys General Association called the indictment \u201cas outrageous as it is dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The GOP group said in making her statements that Murrill was simply \u201cissuing a legal opinion and warning public officials about the law\u201d as part of her official duties. Murrill\u2019s critics saw it as an attempt to intimidate them into accepting the law.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Local officials <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/orleans-parish-clerk-calvin-duncan-legislature-c10855f4c29913e77a90912755b78ffe\">had a swearing-in ceremony<\/a> for Duncan on the steps of the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court two weeks before he was to take office \u2014 while lawmakers still were considering the measure to eliminate his job, combining its duties with those of the civil court clerk. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The City Council also sought to oust the civil court clerk in May and set a special election for November to fill the combined job \u2014 and give Duncan a chance to claim it. That prompted Murrill to warn local officials that they could lose their offices for violating the state \u201cusurper\u201d laws, which forbid support for an unauthorized officeholder.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Moreno, a Democrat, said in a statement that the indictment is \u201ca matter for the courts\u201d and did not directly address the allegations against Murrill.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cMy focus, as always, remains on fulfilling the responsibilities the people of New Orleans elected me to carry out,\u201d Moreno said. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Assistant District Attorney Laurie White, who is prosecuting the case, addressed reporters after the indictment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u201cWe\u2019re very interested in elected officials in New Orleans not being intimidated or threatened by letter or any other way,\u201d White said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">She said she expected the case will be \u201cvery simple\u201d and \u201cvery open and shut.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In response to Landry&#8217;s promise to pardon Murrill, she said, &#8220;Let\u2019s get her convicted, and then he can pardon her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Those who backed the law eliminating Duncan\u2019s elected position argue that it promotes government efficiency and tries to improve a dysfunctional court system in Orleans Parish. They also said the offices of criminal and civil clerks of courts are combined in other parishes. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">But Duncan has said he believes state officials were retaliating against him. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">He sought compensation from the state over his imprisonment but withdrew his petition after Murrill threatened to go after his law license because he referred to hisself as exonerated. She also <a class=\"zZygg UbGlr iFzkS qdXbA WCDhQ DbOXS tqUtK GpWVU iJYzE \" data-testid=\"prism-linkbase\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/new-orleans-election-calvin-duncan-exonerated-murder-73d617069d9d66daffc7576bdb2b6350\">demanded during his campaign<\/a> that he stop describing himself that way or face \u201cfurther action.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">Duncan spent more than 28 years in prison in connection with a fatal shooting during a robbery in 1981. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">The night before a 2011 hearing to consider new evidence, prosecutors offered to reduce Duncan\u2019s sentence to the time he\u2019d already served in prison if he pleaded guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery. Duncan took the deal and was freed but didn\u2019t give up on clearing his name. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">In 2021, a judge agreed that Duncan had been unjustly convicted and vacated his sentence altogether. Landry and Murrill have pointed to the 2011 plea deal in objecting to Duncan calling himself exonerated. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u2014\u2014 <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">This story has been corrected to show that the title of prosecutor Laurie White is assistant district attorney, not assistant attorney general. <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC TjIXL aGjvy \">\u2014\u2014 <\/p>\n<p class=\"EkqkG IGXmU nlgHS yuUao lqtkC eTIW sUzSN \">Associated Press reporter Jack Brook contributed from New Orleans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Louisiana\u2019s Republican attorney general was indicted Thursday on criminal charges by a grand jury in New Orleans, accused of trying to intimidate local officials who fought a law enacted by GOP legislators to overhaul the local courts. Attorney General Liz Murrill told eight New Orleans officials, including Mayor Helena Moreno and District Attorney Jason Williams,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/907c55c0-a977-4e2b-80ed-f059242420ef\/wirestory_ec8c31e8d56fa5df843580902369cb0f_16x9.jpg?w=1600","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}