The Louisiana Supreme Court halted the prosecution of Attorney General Liz Murrill, quashing an arrest warrant filed last Friday following the return of a grand jury indictment accusing Attorney General Liz Murrill of committing eight counts of public intimidation and eight counts of malfeasance in office tied to May letters she sent about the appointment of an interim clerk by Orleans Parish.
The circumstances under which Murrill (pictured above) sent the letter began in April, when Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed Act 15 into law, bringing Orleans in line with the rest of the state’s parishes, the French-inspired system of local government Louisiana uses in place of counties.
Act 15 was passed by the Louisiana General Assembly to streamline the court system in Orleans Parish, which operates as a consolidated city-parish government with New Orleans, and until the adoption of the new legislation, was the only parish in Louisiana with separate criminal and civil courts.
Its passage followed the election of Calvin Duncan to the parish’s Criminal Clerk position. Previously imprisoned for 28 years for murder, Duncan secured release in 2011 and was exonerated in 2021.
Duncan sued in April to overturn the law and obtained a temporary restraining order from U.S. District Judge John deGravelles, but the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed it. Days later, Orleans voter Gary Crockett obtained an injunction prohibiting more physical consolidation of the courts, only to have it stayed by the Louisiana Supreme Court on May 11.
With their options in federal and state court stalled, the New Orleans City Council declared that the law created a vacancy for the position of Orleans Parish Clerk, appointed retired Judge Calvin Johnson, and called for a special election.
It was under these circumstances that Murrill sent letters to Mayor Helena Moreno, District Attorney Jason Williams, five members of the city council, and Johnson, declaring that Act 15 did not create a vacancy for Orleans Parish, and warning of potential consequences under Louisiana’s usurper statutes.
The Louisiana Supreme Court took jurisdiction over state litigation related to Act 15 on May 14, and on June 1 upheld the act, declaring it validly abolished Orleans’ criminal clerk’s office without creating a vacancy. The state court stopped short of declaring a violation of the usurper statutes occurred, citing the confusion surrounding the implementation of the law.
Though it is unclear how the investigation began, 4WWL reported on June 30 that a New Orleans grand jury was considering a criminal complaint against Murrill over her May letters. Murrill stated publicly the following day that she had not yet been notified.
On July 2, the grand jury returned its 16-count indictment and an arrest warrant setting Murrill’s bond at $400,000. Two members of the media were reportedly handcuffed over objections to being removed from the courtroom.
Early the following day, the Louisiana Supreme Court stayed the case, declaring Murrill “makes a compelling argument concerning the disturbing defects in the grand jury proceedings and the trial court’s handling of those proceedings,” and that the grand jury returned an indictment that “appears to turn the law on its head and flows from what appear to be procedural defects and improprieties.”
Murrill later revealed that Johnson did not recall the arrest warrant following the order, prompting the Louisiana Supreme Court to take additional action.
In posts to social media, the attorney general expressed gratitude to the court of last resort, while also expressing concern about the possible beginning of a “political witch hunt” in Louisiana.
“I hope this political witch hunt is not a harbinger of things to come, but I fear that it is. Neither the grand jury investigation law nor the public intimidation law was intended to be used as a political weapon by a rogue, biased, vindictive special prosecutor, judge, and grand jury,” wrote Murrill in one post. “I hope the legislature in the future will ensure this cannot happen again.”
– – –
Tom Pappert is a 2025 recipient of the Dao Prize and the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star. He also reports for the Star News Network. Follow Tom on X. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Liz Murrill” by Louisiana Attorney General’s Office.Â
