NEW ORLEANS — The Louisiana Supreme Court issued a 4-3 decision on May 4, 2026, upholding Act 15, a state law that abolishes the elected office of Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court. The ruling prevents Calvin Duncan from assuming the position he won in the November 2025 election with 68% of the vote.

Act 15, signed into law by Republican Governor Jeff Landry, consolidated the Orleans Parish civil and criminal clerk of court offices under civil clerk Chelsea Richard Napoleon. The court also rejected the New Orleans City Council’s attempt to hold a special election for the abolished position and ruled in favor of Napoleon in her lawsuit against city officials over the appointment of an interim clerk. The justices combined that case with a separate challenge to Act 15 filed by New Orleans businessman Gary Crockett. The court’s majority opinion stated, “This change was entirely within the authority of the legislature.” Chief Justice John Weimer wrote in dissent, “The action by the Legislature to abolish a public office before the person elected to that office can assume the duties of the office makes a mockery of the electoral process by completely obliterating the constitutional effectiveness of the people’s vote.”

Calvin Duncan said in a statement, “At a time when our voting rights are under unprecedented attack, this decision clarifies that if we want to live in a democracy, we have to fight for it with every tool our system of government provides.” Duncan was convicted of a 1981 murder and sentenced to life without parole. He was released in 2011 after pleading guilty to a lesser charge. In 2021, an Orleans Parish judge vacated his sentence, finding he had been unjustly convicted, and the charges were dropped. Duncan earned a law degree in 2023 and held a swearing-in ceremony in April 2026, two weeks before his scheduled start date.

On May 4, Duncan reported for his first day on the job but left hours later after the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals suspended a federal judge’s earlier ruling that Act 15 was unconstitutional. The New Orleans City Council had appointed retired Judge Calvin Johnson as interim clerk. Mayor Helena Moreno said in a statement, “While I am disappointed in today’s ruling, we stood up for the voters of Orleans Parish and defended what many believed was their constitutional right to have the results of an election respected.”