AG Indictment
Louisiana AG Liz Murrill Indicted by Grand Jury Amid New Orleans Court Dispute
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A New Orleans grand jury indicted Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill on 16 felony counts Thursday, charging the state's top law enforcement officer with threatening local officials who defied a Republican-backed overhaul of the city's courts. Messenger-Inquirer reported that the charges include eight counts each of public intimidation and malfeasance in office, with a total bond set at $400,000. The indictment is the first of its kind against a sitting Louisiana attorney general.
The case centers on warning letters Murrill sent to eight New Orleans officials in May, threatening them with removal from office under state "usurper laws" if they moved to appoint an interim court clerk. Republican Governor Jeff Landry quickly promised to pardon Murrill "as fast as the law allows" and ordered the Louisiana State Police to investigate the grand jury itself, according to SF Gate.
Calvin Duncan's Election Win That Sparked the Crisis
The fight began on November 15, 2025, when Calvin Duncan won 68% of the vote to become Orleans Parish Criminal Court Clerk. Duncan is a celebrated legal advocate who spent nearly 30 years in prison wrongfully. His victory was widely celebrated as a milestone. Then, just four days before he was to take office, Governor Landry signed Act 15 into law, abolishing the very job Duncan had won, according to LMT Online.
The law, which passed the state Senate 25–11 and the House 63–28, merged the criminal court clerk's duties into the civil clerk's office. Duncan was sworn in on April 21 anyway, but a federal court temporarily blocked the law. Duncan said simply: "The voters spoke. It's a democratic process... respect the voters' choice." On June 1, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld Act 15 in a narrow 4–3 vote, killing Duncan's role for good.
Murrill's Warning Letters Crossed a Legal Line, Prosecutors Say
After New Orleans officials voted on May 11 to appoint retired Judge Calvin Johnson as interim clerk, Murrill sent formal letters to eight city leaders on May 13. The letters threatened prosecution and removal from office. Mayor Helena Moreno, District Attorney Jason Williams, and five city council members all received them, according to WFMZ. Moreno posted a response on Instagram, noting Louisiana law bans public intimidation of elected officials.
Special prosecutor Laurie White, a retired judge appointed to handle the case, said the grand jury acted to protect New Orleans officials from being "intimidated or threatened by letter or any other way." When told Landry had promised a pardon, White did not back down. She replied: "Good, let's get her convicted, and then he can pardon her." Murrill's defense lawyer called the indictment a "complete misuse of the criminal justice system."
Landry Calls It a Kangaroo Court as Allies Rally to Murrill
Governor Landry did not hold back after the indictment dropped. He called the Orleans Parish criminal justice system "a circus at its finest" and a "Kangaroo court" on social media. He also ordered the Louisiana State Police to investigate what he called "alleged improprieties" by the grand jury — a move that puts state law enforcement on a direct collision course with local judicial authority, according to Kokomo Tribune.
The Republican Attorneys General Association called the indictment "as outrageous as it is dangerous," arguing Murrill was simply doing her job by issuing legal warnings. Murrill herself said: "My job is the Attorney General, and it is defined in law, in the Constitution. I will continue to do my job." Former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial took the opposite view, saying the attacks on the city "remind me of 1950s Louisiana," according to Enid News.
A Deeper War Between Baton Rouge and New Orleans
This clash is bigger than one indictment. Louisiana's Republican-led state government and the heavily Democratic city of New Orleans have long been at odds. Under Act 15 and a sister bill, SB 217, the state also eliminated three Orleans Parish Criminal District Court judgeships. Critics, including the ACLU of Louisiana, say the overhaul was timed specifically to strip power from a Black exoneree who had just won a free and fair election, according to SM Daily Journal.
Political analyst Dr. Silas Lee said the indictment shows New Orleans fighting to keep its own local authority against what he called state-level overreach. Civil ethics attorney Bill Aaron warned the conflict will go beyond the courtroom, further eroding trust in public institutions. With Landry vowing a pardon and White vowing a conviction, the battle between the state capital and Louisiana's biggest city is far from over.
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