Bill would block Orleans court clerk from taking office, casting shadow over May election

Republicans in the Louisiana Legislature continue to push through measures to shrink the court system in New Orleans, the state’s majority-Black, Democratic stronghold. A bill to cut its number of clerks of court from two to one was approved Thursday in a House committee, putting it steps away from full approval.

The House Committee on Judiciary voted 8-5 to advance a bill by Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, that would end the separate criminal and civil clerk of court offices in Orleans Parish. Rep. Kathy Edmonston, R-Gonzales, crossed party lines to vote with Democrats against the bill.

Another Morris proposal would combine Orleans’ two state district courts and drastically reduce the number of judges. He also has a bill to cut back Orleans’ representation on the state’s Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal, which also encompasses St. Bernard and Plaquemines parishes.   

Morris has argued Orleans should be in line with the other 42 judicial districts in Louisiana where one clerk handles both civil and criminal cases. 

But this efficiency argument has taken a backseat during debate over the clerk bill because it would eliminate the post to which former “prison lawyer” and now licensed attorney Calvin Duncan was elected in November and is poised to assume May 4. The criminal court clerk also oversees elections in New Orleans, which leaves uncertain exactly who would administer the May 16 party primaries and June runoffs if Morris’ bill gains full approval before Duncan takes office.

“Maybe the timing is not ideal. I’ll admit that,” Morris told the committee just before they voted on his bill.

Duncan was sentenced to life in prison at Louisiana State Penitentiary for a 1981 murder he did not commit. He earned the “prison lawyer” title for working while incarcerated to clear his name and help other imprisoned men with their cases. Duncan was released in 2011 and, with help from Innocence and Justice Louisiana, his conviction was officially vacated in 2021. He has since graduated from Tulane University and earned a law degree from Lewis & Clark University in Oregon in 2023.

With speakers limited to three minutes each, members of the judiciary committee heard two hours of testimony from several opponents of Morris’ bill. No one spoke in favor of the proposal.

Duncan testified first, telling lawmakers that during his campaign he frequently heard from New Orleans citizens that they supported his candidacy but didn’t believe their vote would make a difference. 

“This bill tells them exactly what they had believed before I talked to them, that their votes don’t count,” Duncan said.

Duncan handily defeated incumbent clerk Darren Lombard with 68% support, having included in his campaign messaging the difficulty he had obtaining his court records while still in prison and afterward once he advocated for people still incarcerated. 

He claimed victory despite campaign attacks from Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill, who insisted Duncan shouldn’t consider himself exonerated. Many criminal law attorneys agree that Duncan has proven his innocence.

At Thursday’s hearing, Duncan told lawmakers Murrill threatened to charge him with perjury when he sought compensation from the state for being wrongfully imprisoned. He said her message was delivered by Leon Cannizzaro, the former Orleans district attorney who now leads the attorney general’s criminal division. 

Cannizzaro was an assistant prosecutor on Duncan’s case in 1985 and New Orleans district attorney in 2011 when evidence surfaced to undermine his conviction. Duncan was allowed to plead guilty to manslaughter and attempted armed robbery, resentenced to 49 years in prison and released for the time he had served.

Reached about Duncan’s comments, Murrill said through her spokesman only that Morris’ bill is not part of her legislative package and that she has had no involvement with the legislation.

Chelsea Richard Napoleon, the Orleans Civil Court clerk since 2018, also appeared before the committee but did not declare her stance on Morris’ legislation. She would assume the criminal clerk’s duties if the bill becomes law. That transition has to begin once the governor signs the bill, and Napoleon said those duties and responsibilities will fall to her with less funding under the Morris’ bill.

Her civil clerk office currently splits court fee revenue evenly with the court itself. Under the legislation advanced Thursday, the split would switch to 40%-60% in favor of the court. Every other clerk’s office in the state gets to keep 100% of their court fee revenue, Napoleon said.  

At the start of the hearing, Morris fielded nearly an hour of questions from committee members, nearly all from Democrats who repeatedly asked why he, a lawmaker from Northeast Louisiana, wants to subvert the resounding choice of New Orleans voters. Some noted the bill, should it gain full approval, is likely to face a legal challenge from opponents.  

Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, apologized to Duncan for having to appear before lawmakers to fight for a position he’s already won. She also predicted the outcome of a court case over Morris’ bill.

“It’s unfortunate that I don’t think you’re going to be successful today,” Newell told Duncan, “but I do think you’re going to be successful downtown,” referring to the Orleans CIvil District Courthouse.