Legislature passes plan to consolidate Orleans Parish court clerk offices after heated debate

Published: April 24, 2026

By: AnnMarie Bedard, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE — The Louisiana House voted 63-28 Thursday to eliminate the New Orleans clerk of criminal court position, a move that would prevent newly elected clerk Calvin Duncan from serving his term.

Duncan, who was sworn in Wednesday after winning 68% of the vote in a November election, will be unable to take over the job as planned May 4 if the measure is signed into law by Gov. Jeff Landry, who has supported the proposal.

Duncan, who was wrongfully convicted and spent years in prison before being released and later exonerated, worked as a “prison lawyer” during his incarceration and later graduated from law school.

Citing his struggle to access his own legal records, Duncan ran and won the election for Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal Court, unseating the incumbent, Darren Lombard.

The legislation, authored by Sen. Jay Morris, R-West Monroe, targeted Orleans as the only Louisiana parish with separate civil and criminal court clerks.