Federal courts clash over state law displacing Orleans clerk of court

Just hours after a federal judge halted a new state law to eliminate the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court’s office, an appellate court will allow the measure to take effect.

Caught in the court chaos is Calvin Duncan, who officially began work Monday. The former “jailhouse lawyer” who was wrongfully imprisoned for 28 years, was elected court clerk in November with 68% support against incumbent Darren Lombard. 

Duncan showed up for work Monday morning at the Orleans Criminal District Courthouse, the Associated Press reported. But for the time being, an administrative stay from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals leaves him without a job. 

Duncan, a Black Democrat, sued Republican Gov. Jeff Landry after he signed a law Thursday to eliminate the clerk’s post, effective overnight Sunday. In his place, Orleans Civil Court Clerk Chelsea Napoleon Richard would take over criminal court responsibilities. 

Orleans is the only jurisdiction in the state with two separate courts. State lawmakers have also advanced a separate proposal to reduce the number of judges in Orleans.

U.S. District Judge John deGravelles issued a temporary restraining order Sunday to stop the law from eliminating the clerk’s role. He wrote that the new state law “violated [Duncan’s] federally protected constitutional rights to due process and to vote.”

Read the order below

In a social media post Monday morning, the governor said the order from deGravelles, a federal court appointee of former President Barack Obama, “accomplishes nothing of substance.” After the 5th Circuit’s stay was issued, Landry said in a separate post the judge only managed to “create chaos and confusion.”

New Orleans officials held a swearing-in ceremony April 21 for Duncan as legislation to eliminate his job advanced at the State Capitol. May 4 marks his first official day in office.

The ACLU of Louisiana is among the organizations and lawyers representing Duncan in the case. 

“The Louisiana Legislature attempted something this country has seen before: the targeted dismantling of Black political power through the machinery of law.  The court saw it for what it was.” Alanah Odoms, ACLU of Louisiana executive director, said in a statement.

In a news conference with reporters Monday, Odoms linked the law blocking Duncan from his job to last week’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that declared Louisiana’s congressional districts an illegal racial gerrymander. In response to that ruling, the governor issued an order to suspend the six U.S. House races on the May 16 ballot just ahead of the early voting period that began Saturday. 

The action gives the legislature a chance to redraw the boundaries and set a new election date. Its Republican supermajority is expected to remove one or both of Louisiana’s majority-Black seats in Congress before its lawmaking session ends June 1.

Odoms said the Callais v. Louisiana decision empowers “all kinds of nefarious actors” to shield the true intent of their actions to discriminate against and disenfranchise Black voters, she said.

Duncan’s attorneys intend to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in his case, Odoms added. She believes the 5th Circuit did not respond to deGravelles’ order in time to prevent Duncan from taking office, which he officially assumed at midnight. 

Under the Louisiana Constitution, Odoms said Duncan’s elected term cannot be reduced or diminished, noting that state officials used the same argument when they sought to block to keep Lombard in office through May 3.   

“We know that their strategy is to literally speak with a forked tongue and use the constitution where it protects their maneuvering …  but to then say in the same breath that it doesn’t apply when it doesn’t work in their favor,” she said. 

Duncan left the courthouse after the 5th Circuit issued its stay, WVUE-TV Fox 8 reported. Earlier in the morning, a protest march originated from the courthouse bound for New Orleans City Hall. Participants rallied in opposition to the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in the Callais case and what they see as the governor’s interference in the local court system.

Shouting with a bullhorn, an organizer urged onlookers to reject the five proposed amendments to the Louisiana Constitution on the May 16 ballot. They include a measure Landry backs to dissolve three education trust funds to pay off teacher retirement system debt in order to provide school staff with a permanent pay increase.

Piper Hutchinson contributed to this story.