Louisiana GOP Moves to Eliminate Office of Exonerated New Orleans Clerk
- A legal and political battle is unfolding in New Orleans as Louisiana state officials move to eliminate the office of the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court.
- The effort to scrap the position is led by Governor Jeff Landry and the Republican-controlled state legislature.
- Calvin Duncan secured the clerk's office in November 2025, winning 68% of the vote.
A legal and political battle is unfolding in New Orleans as Louisiana state officials move to eliminate the office of the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court. The position was recently won in a landmark election by Calvin Duncan, a man who spent nearly three decades imprisoned for a crime he did not commit.
The effort to scrap the position is led by Governor Jeff Landry and the Republican-controlled state legislature. The move comes shortly before Duncan is scheduled to be sworn into office on May 4, 2026.
A Landmark Victory and a Sudden Threat
Calvin Duncan secured the clerk’s office in November 2025, winning 68% of the vote. His campaign focused on reforming the judicial system, a goal rooted in his own experience fighting for access to court records while incarcerated in a maximum security facility.
Duncan’s personal history is central to his political platform. He was sentenced to the Angola prison in 1981 for the murder of 23-year-old David Yeager. Despite having only an eighth-grade education at the time of his sentencing, Duncan eventually uncovered and presented evidence proving that police officers had lied in court during his trial.
After serving more than 28 years in prison, Duncan was exonerated in 2021 and is listed on the National Registry of Exonerations. His victory in the 2025 runoff election was seen as a significant moment for judicial reform in New Orleans.
Legislative Action and Political Friction
The current conflict escalated when Louisiana Senate Republicans voted on Wednesday, April 9, 2026, to eliminate Duncan’s new role. This action is part of a larger legislative push to overhaul the New Orleans court system, which includes the removal of 10 judgeships across the Orleans Parish judiciary.
Governor Jeff Landry has defended these bills by citing the need for government efficiency
and the desire to clean up a system in Orleans Parish that he claims has been plagued by dysfunction and corruption for years
.
However, Duncan views the move as a direct act of retaliation. During a committee hearing in March 2026, Duncan argued that the legislation disenfranchises the voters who overwhelmingly supported his candidacy.
Calvin Duncan to Louisiana lawmakers
The citizens of New Orleans overwhelmingly said: ‘I want to give this person a chance, he can make a difference,’What this bill does, it says: ‘Thank you but you wasted your time.’ It disenfranchises everybody.
A History of Legal Conflict
The tension between Duncan and the state’s executive leadership predates the current legislative battle. Duncan’s conflicts with Jeff Landry began during Landry’s tenure as state attorney general, when Landry opposed a compensation petition Duncan filed after his conviction was overturned.
According to reports from the Associated Press, Duncan eventually withdrew that petition after current Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill threatened to revoke his law license.
Duncan has stated that the current efforts to eliminate his office are a continuation of these threats. He told the Associated Press that the Attorney General had previously warned him that speaking accurately about his innocence and exoneration would result in consequences from her office.
The political divide is further highlighted by the demographics of the region. New Orleans is a Democratic hub with a predominantly Black electorate, while the Louisiana state legislature is largely white and Republican-controlled.