Duncan, who spent nearly 30 years in prison before a judge vacated his sentence, has won a new political chance in New Orleans after pledging to reform a judicial system that he says failed him. But as his scheduled May 4 swearing-in approaches, Louisiana Republicans in the Legislature are pushing to eliminate the elected clerk of criminal court job that voters selected him to hold.
The fight centers on an office Duncan won in November after securing 68% of the vote, building his campaign around his experiences seeking access to court records while incarcerated. The Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court position oversees processes tied to criminal cases, and Duncan’s victory promised changes based on what he encountered during the years he said he was unable to get the records he needed.
On Wednesday, Louisiana Senate Republicans voted to scrap Duncan’s new job as part of a wider GOP plan to streamline parts of the judiciary in New Orleans, a Democratic hub with a predominantly Black electorate. Duncan’s swearing-in remains scheduled for May 4, but lawmakers moved to end the role before he can take office.
Duncan told the Associated Press he believes the legislative effort is retaliation by state officials who previously denied his innocence, despite his name appearing on the National Registry of Exonerations. He also pointed to what he described as consequences connected to his advocacy about his wrongful conviction, saying the state officials have sought to penalize him for accurately describing his exoneration.
In a March committee hearing, Duncan told lawmakers, “The citizens of New Orleans overwhelmingly said: ‘I want to give this person a chance, he can make a difference,’” and added that a bill to eliminate his job would treat the election as invalid. He said, “What this bill does, it says: ‘Thank you but you wasted your time.’ It disenfranchises everybody.”
The underlying wrongful-conviction case dates back to the 1981 murder of David Yeager, when Duncan was convicted and later imprisoned for more than 28 years. In 2011, prosecutors offered a reduced sentence agreement on the eve of a hearing that would consider new evidence if Duncan pleaded guilty to manslaughter and armed robbery, and Duncan was freed afterward. In 2021, a judge vacated Duncan’s sentence after agreeing he had been unjustly convicted.
Duncan said Louisiana officials opposed him when he pursued compensation related to the wrongful conviction. He withdrew a petition for compensation in 2023 after he said then-Attorney General Jeff Landry opposed it, and after Landry’s successor, Liz Murrill, threatened to pursue his law license if he continued calling himself “exonerated.” Landry and Murrill have pointed to Duncan’s earlier acceptance of a 2011 plea deal as they make their case.
Landry told the AP 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.” Supporters of consolidating court administration argue the criminal clerk of court role should be merged with the civil clerk of court role, noting that the offices are combined in other parishes.
A legislative auditor estimate cited by proponents puts the savings from terminating the criminal clerk of court position at $27,300, though the office said the costs of combining clerks’ offices were “unknown.” Sen. Jay Morris, the Republican author of the bill, acknowledged that once the elected criminal clerk position is eliminated, the civil clerk might struggle to handle additional case volume, and said the solution would be to “hire someone.”
Morris told lawmakers that the goal is to pass the law in time to prevent Duncan from taking office before the start of his four-year term, with the bill immediately going into effect upon the governor’s signature. Duncan’s opponents also said other New Orleans elected judicial officials whose jobs might be eliminated in the future would be allowed to serve out their terms, but that Duncan would not.
In response on the Senate floor, Democratic Sen. Royce Duplessis said, “I have never seen something so barbaric,” and added that he expected history would record what the Legislature did. Duncan, 62, has also been a driving force behind a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision that ended nonunanimous jury convictions, and he has founded a nonprofit focused on expanding incarcerated people’s access to the court system.
The AP reported that Louisiana lawmakers are racing the bill toward approval, with the measure on track to be passed by the GOP-controlled House and approved by Landry.