An exonerated man who pulled off an unlikely victory last year to become the New Orleans criminal court clerk has been blocked from taking office after Louisiana’s governor signed a law this week abolishing the role altogether.
The man, Calvin Duncan, had regained his freedom after spending 28 years in prison for murder, during which he built up a thorough understanding of criminal law to help himself and other incarcerated people challenge wrongful convictions and reduce sentences.
He was set to begin in his new role on Monday.
The state’s Republican lawmakers had rushed to pass the bill before then, as part of a broader effort to overhaul the judicial system in New Orleans by cutting judges and consolidating court functions. Under the measure signed by Gov. Jeff Landry on Thursday, the criminal clerk’s responsibilities — which also include managing elections in the city — will be folded into the city’s civil clerk’s office.
Supporters say the broader effort is meant to save money and make the distinctive judicial setup in New Orleans more uniform with its counterparts in other Louisiana parishes.
Mr. Duncan filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday to block the legislation from going into effect. Mr. Duncan, who was released from prison in 2011 and later graduated law school at age 60, argued that the measure was the product of a “coordinated conspiracy” led by Mr. Landry, a Republican, and Liz Murrill, the state’s Republican attorney general.
In the suit, he asserted that he was being retaliated against because of “his outspoken claims that the criminal legal system in Orleans is unjust and frequently discriminatory against Black people.”
Ms. Murrill, in particular, had challenged Mr. Duncan’s claim that he was actually exonerated in the 1981 murder that sent him to the notorious Louisiana penitentiary known as Angola. Her office pointed to his guilty plea to a lesser charge, which he had made to ensure his release from prison.
A judge later found him factually innocent, and he is listed on the National Registry of Exonerations, an independent clearinghouse maintained by scholars.
Mr. Duncan’s bid for criminal court clerk initially appeared to be a long shot, as he sought to bring attention to an office that is often ignored but, according to him, serves a vital function for incarcerated people trying to appeal their cases. He argued that the office had failed in that role because of disorganization and outdated practices.
His campaign gained steam when the incumbent, Darren Lombard, attacked Mr. Duncan by seizing on the claims that he had not been cleared in the murder. In a city with one of the highest rates of known wrongful convictions, the messaging struck a nerve. The down-ballot race suddenly drew considerable attention. Mr. Duncan forced Mr. Lombard into a runoff and then won by a significant margin.
During the debate over the restructuring, Republican officials swatted down any suggestion that they were motivated by animus toward Mr. Duncan. Rather, they argued, it was about “right-sizing” court operations.
“It’s about recognizing that the city is out of balance,” Mr. Landry said in a radio interview this week.
Rick Rojas is the Atlanta bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the South.
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