05/04/2026
Come on, . I had not heard about this ruling. I agree with this great Judge, who is also a very smart lawyer.
Yesterday, Federal Judge John deGravelles confirmed what LACAG told the legislature: SB 256 is an unconstitutional attempt to “un-elect” Calvin Duncan, a man who won a lawful election with 68% of the vote.
As a lifelong Republican, I speak out regularly, both on behalf of LACAG and as co-host of The State of Freedom, for the streamlining of our government, fiscal accountability, and the consolidation of the nearly 500 state boards and commissions in our State. I believe that Orleans Parish should undergo a third party fiscal audit, and that there is a strong argument to be made for the consolidation of the Civil and Criminal Clerk’s offices in Orleans Parish. There is simply no excuse for the inveterate pattern of administrative and fiscal mismanagement that has plagued Orleans parish for far too long.
BUT NOT THIS WAY.
I testified passionately in opposition to SB 256 because it was a flagrant violation of constitutional due process. I have never met Calvin Duncan. And while I admire his story of relentless perseverance, I would have made substantively the same argument no matter who was in his position. The Constitution knows no color, creed, or political party.
It is noteworthy that the Court found the state had only a "minimal interest" in pushing SB 256. This begs the question that MUST be answered: Why the rush?
Why did the legislature scramble to pass a midnight law to eliminate an office just hours before Mr. Duncan was set to take office as the Criminal Clerk of Orleans Parish?Why was a legislative action of this magnitude not brought, considered, and passed well before one of the most historic elections in Louisiana history was certified and commissioned?
The history here is chilling. In 1982, Leon Cannizzaro personally prosecuted Calvin Duncan and stated in sworn pleadings that the state had no exculpatory evidence, which is evidence of Mr. Duncan’s innocence. He was wrong. Mr. Duncan spent many years in prison before evidence of his innocence was finally revealed.
Now, decades later, the man who was wrongfully imprisoned is the duly elected custodian of every record in the Orleans Parish Criminal Clerk’s Office.
Federal courts have found "systemic fraud" on the Court that "shocks the conscience" inside the Orleans Parish DA’s Office under Cannizzaro’s tenure. Yet, despite these federal findings, to our knowledge neither Cannizzaro nor any attorney in his office has been disciplined, suspended, or disbarred. On the contrary, Cannizzaro is now the head of the Criminal Division of the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office.
Calvin Duncan reports to work today. The man they tried to keep in a cell is now the man holding the evidence. And the citizens of Louisiana deserve to know exactly why the State was willing to trample the Constitution to keep it from happening.
“For the Lord of all shows no partiality, nor does he fear greatness, Because he himself made the great as well as the small, and he provides for all alike; but for those in power a rigorous scrutiny impends.”Wisdom 6:8
