Louisiana Republicans eliminate elected position days before an exoneree was set to take office

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Louisiana Republicans have eliminated an elected position days before an exoneree who overwhelmingly won the New Orleans-based clerk seat was set to take office.

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.

Republicans say wiping away the office is a consolidation effort meant to make the local judicial system more efficient and cut costs. But Democrats describe the change as government overreach — arguing that it infringes on a predominately Black parish's decision at the polls.

Calvin Duncan, who spent nearly 30 years behind bars for a crime he did not commit, easily won election to the criminal court clerk position in November, beating the incumbent and earning more than two-thirds of the vote. He had been set to take office next Monday and has asked a federal judge to allow him to take office as scheduled.

Duncan and Landry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Duncan, a Democrat whose murder conviction was vacated in 2021 after evidence emerged that police officers had lied in court, has vowed to help fix the system that once failed him.

Duncan, 63, and his supporters say he is being targeted by the most powerful Republicans in the state, including those who have denied his innocence, even though Duncan's name is listed on the National Registry of Exonerations.

"We're doing something because powerful people don't like him," Rep. Mandie Landry, a New Orleans Democrat told lawmakers during a legislative committee hearing in April. Landry, who is not related to the governor, described the Republican efforts as “atrocious” and worries what it could mean for other elected positions in the state.

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. The civil clerk position would remain and absorb the criminal clerk's role.

Eliminating the clerk position saves the state about $27,000 and the city $233,000 according to the office of the legislative auditor, which added that the long-term costs of consolidation are “unknown.” The legislation also shifts about $1.17 million in state expenditures to the parish. The civil and criminal court of clerk have separate physical offices and different case management systems.

The governor told The Associated Press 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.”

The consolidation is part of a broader GOP effort during the ongoing legislative session to overhaul the judiciary in New Orleans — including bills that propose abolishing several other elected judicial positions in the parish. However, those jobs would be eliminated further down the line, allowing officials to serve out their terms.

The bill’s Republican author, Sen. Jay Morris, who represents a district several hours away from New Orleans, said the goal was to implement the clerk consolidation before Duncan takes office, preventing him from starting a four-year term. Morris has acknowledged that he expects lawsuits to be filed as a result of this law but believes the change to be constitutional.

“It’s unfortunate for Mr. Duncan, I concede that," Morris told lawmakers in April. "He seems very nice, but we don’t make policy around here for just one person.”

Although conversations have revolved around Duncan, many also raise concerns about how the change could potentially disenfranchise voters — a heightened worry in a deeply red state that has been leading efforts to gut the Voting Rights Act. Orleans Parish is a Democratic hub with a predominantly Black electorate.

“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," Rep. Edmond Jordan, a Democrat, told Morris.

Well before the legislation ever reached the governor's desk, Duncan said he could see the writing on the wall. Ahead of the outcome, Duncan's advocates held a ceremonial swearing in for him. Hundreds of people gathered on the steps of the Orleans Parish criminal courthouse to support the exoneree.

Duncan told lawmakers that, along the campaign trail last year, he spoke with many people who told him they typically abstain from voting in elections: “Now, this bill tells people exactly what they had believed — that their vote doesn’t count.”

Brook reported from New Orleans.