Calvin Duncan spent nearly three decades in prison for a murder he did not commit. In November, voters in New Orleans gave him a resounding mandate: more than two-thirds backed him for the job of criminal court clerk, a longstanding elected position in the city. Days before he was scheduled to start Monday, Republicans in Louisiana quietly eliminated the office entirely.
Governor Jeff Landry, a Republican, signed the abolition into law Thursday without public fanfare. The move targeted the very post Duncan had just won, raising questions about whether his tenure would survive legal challenges ahead.
But a federal judge stepped in over the weekend. U.S. District Judge John deGravelles ruled the law unconstitutional at Duncan's request and issued a temporary restraining order Sunday evening, allowing the exoneree to take office as scheduled. The reprieve is temporary, however. Landry's administration and state Attorney General Liz Murrill can appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit, widely regarded as the nation's most conservative federal appeals court.
Duncan, 63, reacted with relief to the restraining order. "I'm elated because the people's right to vote is being honored," he said in a statement.
The Republican justification centers on government efficiency. Legislators argue that consolidating the criminal and civil clerk positions, as exists in every other Louisiana parish, will streamline operations and reduce costs. State auditors calculated the move would save roughly $27,000 annually for the state and $233,000 for New Orleans. The consolidation, however, would also shift approximately $1.17 million in state spending to the parish and eliminates a position with a separate physical office and independent case management system.
State Senator Jay Morris, the Republican author of the legislation, represents a district hours away from New Orleans. He acknowledged the timing was deliberate, designed to prevent Duncan from beginning a four-year term. "It's unfortunate for Mr. Duncan, I concede that," Morris told lawmakers in April. "He seems very nice, but we don't make policy around here for just one person."
Democrats argue the move represents something far darker: an attempt to overturn the will of voters in a majority-Black city because powerful Republicans oppose Duncan's presence in office. State Representative Mandie Landry, a New Orleans Democrat unrelated to the governor, called the effort "atrocious" and warned about precedent for other elected positions statewide.
The timing cuts deeper in Louisiana's political moment. Just days before the clerk position was eliminated, the U.S. Supreme Court dismantled a key provision of the Voting Rights Act that had protected minority voters from discriminatory redistricting. New Orleans remains a Democratic stronghold with a predominantly African American electorate.
"Mr. Duncan was elected by 68 percent of the vote in a city that's majority African American," State Representative Edmond Jordan told Morris during committee hearings. "This is the will of the people, and what your bill attempts to do is usurp the will of the people."
Duncan's path to this moment reflects both systemic failure and resilience. His murder conviction was vacated in 2021 after evidence surfaced that police officers had committed perjury at trial. His name now appears on the National Registry of Exonerations. He has said he intends to use the clerk position to help reform the very system that imprisoned him for decades.
Days before taking office, Duncan acknowledged seeing the threat coming. His supporters held a ceremonial swearing-in on the courthouse steps, drawing hundreds who showed up to back the exoneree. Duncan told lawmakers that during campaigning for the position, many New Orleans residents confessed they typically skipped voting altogether. "Now, this bill tells people exactly what they had believed," Duncan said. "That their vote doesn't count."
The broader legislative assault on New Orleans' judiciary continues beyond the clerk position. Republicans are advancing additional bills this session that would abolish several other elected judicial posts in the parish, though those changes would take effect later, allowing current officeholders to finish their terms. Governor Landry framed the clerk consolidation as part of cleaning up "a system in New Orleans that has been plagued by dysfunction and corruption for years."
Morris expects legal challenges and says he believes the law will ultimately survive constitutional scrutiny. For now, Duncan prepares to begin work while his very right to hold the office remains in limbo.
Author James Rodriguez: "This is raw political payback dressed up as efficiency, and the Supreme Court's recent Voting Rights Act decision makes the timing unmistakable."
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