As Gov. Jeff Landry prepares to put pen to paper and officially eliminate the clerk of criminal court’s position in New Orleans, the man elected to that post is taking the fight over the seat to court.
After SB 256 effectively passed the Legislature Wednesday, Calvin Duncan filed a temporary restraining order against Landry, Attorney General Liz Murrill and Secretary of State Nancy Landry in Louisiana Middle District Court, located in Baton Rouge. The ACLU Foundation of Louisiana is working with Duncan. The TRO seeks to block the law, if enacted, and allow him to take the oath of office.
Duncan was officially set to take the oath of office Monday, but if Landry signs the bill before then, that will never happen. And Landry has vowed to sign it.
The TRO seeks to block the law, if enacted, and allow him to take the oath of office.
Duncan won the criminal clerk of court race last October with 68% of the vote, unseating incumbent Darren Lombard.
During his campaign, he told his story of being jailed for 28 years for a crime he did not commit, inciting passionate rhetoric from Murrill that his claims were false.
Duncan was convicted of murder in the 1980s and sentenced to life in prison at Angola. In 2011, after new evidence surfaced, he was allowed to plead to a lesser charge and walk free from jail.
He became a lawyer while in prison.
In 2021, his conviction was cleared by Orleans Parish Judge Nandi Campbell.
Duncan says he was exonerated. But the state’s attorney general, Murrill, has called that exoneration “an inaccurate statement.”
In a letter to Duncan, Murrill claimed, “The circumstances in which your conviction was vacated have caused me grave concern about abuse and manipulation of the justice system.”
During the legislative session, dozens of people spoke out in opposition to SB 256, calling it voter injustice and claiming that Duncan was being targeted by the governor and the attorney general. Very few showed up in Baton Rouge in support.
Nonetheless, the bill passed mainly along party lines because Republicans hold the majority of seats in the Legislature.
Clerk of Civil Court Chelsea Napoleon is set to assume both positions, effectively creating one Orleans clerk of court.
Leaders say the move puts the city in line with clerks from parishes across the state.
However, Napoleon has expressed concern with the transition, questioning who was footing the bill to consolidate the offices and the logistics of how to merge caseloads. Napoleon will also be in charge of elections in New Orleans, something that was previously managed under the clerk of criminal court.
Knowing that this might happen, Duncan held a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony last week on the steps of Criminal Court. It was an emotional moment, attended by hundreds, including many city leaders who were there to show support.
With this latest court filing, it appears Duncan is not quite ready to give up and plans to take his case to court.
