Exoneree assumes elected clerk office after judge blocks law eliminating position
NEW ORLEANS — A Louisiana man who spent decades in prison for a wrongful conviction began supervising the New Orleans criminal court Monday after a judge temporarily blocked the state from eliminating the position.
Calvin Duncan won 68 percent of the vote to serve as Clerk of the Orleans Parish Criminal Court. But at the urging of Republican Gov. Jeff Landry, the Republican-controlled state legislature rushed to pass a law eliminating the position days before Duncan’s term began, transferring the duties to another official.
U.S. District Judge John deGravelles intervened Sunday, saying the law eliminating the clerk position was unconstitutional because it replaced an elected position with a political appointee. He granted Duncan’s request for a restraining order while the litigation continues and ordered the parties to hold a status conference Monday.
“The Court is not ruling that the state does not have the authority to abolish an agency or office writ large,” deGravelles said.
He said he “simply feels” that Louisiana’s approach violated Duncan’s constitutional rights to due process.
Louisiana quickly responded with an appeal Monday, asking a higher court to freeze the order.
The bill, which Landry signed Thursday, sought to have the Orleans Parish civil court clerk assume the responsibilities of the criminal court clerk. Landry and his Republican allies said the measure consolidating the clerk’s offices improved government efficiency and brought Orleans Parish in line with the rest of the state.
As Duncan walked up the stairs to the courthouse early Monday morning and settled into his new office, he told The Associated Press that he was excited to start work and believed he would win the legal battle in the long run.
“I’m not just thrilled, but over the top and happy that this day has finally arrived,” Duncan told the AP. “This is something I’ve been working on for a very long time. It’s a testimony that God is still in control.”
Duncan, whose murder conviction was overturned in 2021, learned law behind bars and later became a licensed attorney. He ran for clerk on a pledge to improve access to court records, electrifying many voters with his personal experience fighting to clear his name. He told the AP he plans to spend his first day in office getting to know his court employees and colleagues.
Duncan’s supporters say the attempt by a predominantly white conservative legislature to eliminate Duncan’s position thwarts the will of voters in New Orleans, a predominantly black Democratic center in a red state. Louisiana led efforts to gut the Voting Rights Act.
New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, a Democrat, said the judge’s decision in Duncan’s case protected voters’ rights.
“The court made it clear that you cannot change the rules after an election has already taken place,” Moreno said in a statement. “New Orleans voters overwhelmingly elected Calvin Duncan and the will of the people must be respected.”
___
Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-reported issues.
