Louisiana Republicans have removed an elected Orleans Parish post days before exoneree Calvin Duncan was scheduled to take office as clerk of criminal court, a move that Democrats said undermines voters’ choices in a predominantly Black parish and that Republicans described as government consolidation.
Republican Gov. Jeff Landry signed legislation abolishing the clerk position on Thursday, Louisiana Secretary of State spokesperson Trey Williams told reporters. The bill eliminated the longstanding Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court seat, even though Duncan—who won the post in November—had been scheduled to start work the following Monday.
Duncan’s supporters and Duncan himself have argued that the timing of the change is aimed at preventing him from beginning a four-year term. They said he had asked a federal judge to allow him to take office as scheduled, while the state moved to erase the office that voters selected.
Duncan’s path to the election followed years in prison for a murder conviction that was vacated in 2021 after evidence emerged that police officers had lied in court. He is a Democrat, and he and his supporters have said the decision to block him reflects targeting by powerful Republicans in the state, including figures who have denied his innocence despite his name being listed on the National Registry of Exonerations.
At the same time, Democrats argued that the legislation’s effects go beyond Duncan’s case. Rep. Edmond Jordan, a Democrat, told lawmakers during a legislative committee hearing that Duncan was elected with 68% of the vote in a city that is majority African American, calling the change an attempt to “usurp the will of the people.”
Republicans said the bill is part of a consolidation effort to restructure Orleans Parish’s court clerks. Under the legislation, Republicans said the civil clerk position would remain and absorb the criminal clerk’s role, aligning Orleans Parish with other parishes in Louisiana that have a single clerk’s office. The bill also accounted for costs and operations: Republicans cited estimated savings and a shift in state expenditures to the parish, while describing separate physical offices and differing case management systems for the civil and criminal clerks.
Republicans said the measure would save the state about $27,000 and the city $233,000, according to the office of the legislative auditor, which also said the long-term costs of consolidation are “unknown.” The legislation, the report said, shifts about $1.17 million in state expenditures to the parish.
The governor, in remarks to The Associated Press, described eliminating Duncan’s elected office as an effort to improve efficiency and to “clean[] up a system in Orleans Parish that has been plagued by dysfunction and corruption for years.”
Republicans’ broader agenda in the ongoing legislative session also includes additional proposals affecting Orleans Parish judicial offices, though those jobs would be eliminated later, allowing officials to serve out their terms. The Republican author of the clerk consolidation bill, Sen. Jay Morris, said the legislation was intended to be implemented before Duncan could begin his term and he acknowledged he expects lawsuits.
Morris told lawmakers in April, “It’s unfortunate for Mr. Duncan, I concede that,” and added, “He seems very nice, but we don’t make policy around here for just one person.” Duncan’s supporters, meanwhile, said the change could contribute to voter disenfranchisement. In the campaign trail last year, Duncan told lawmakers, he spoke with voters who said they typically abstain from voting because “their vote doesn’t count,” and he said the legislation reinforced that belief.
Duncan also drew a comparison to historical treatment of Black public officials. “It’s a sad thing to see the state government repeating what happened to Black public officials during Reconstruction,” Duncan said. “They will do what they do, and I will do whatever I have to do to vindicate the voters of New Orleans and make sure that what happened to me never happens to anybody else.”
He had already sought support before the legislation’s outcome, according to the account: ahead of the legislation’s approval, Duncan’s advocates held a ceremonial swearing in at the Orleans Parish criminal courthouse, with hundreds gathered to back him. Landry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.