Louisiana: Federal Court Blocks Governor Landry’s Attempt To Eliminate Elected Office; Calvin Duncan To Take Seat As Clerk Of Criminal District Court
By Center For Constitutional Rights Photos: Wikimedia Commons May 4, 2026, New Orleans — A federal court Monday granted in part Calvin Duncan’s emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, blocking Governor Jeff Landry and state officials from eliminating the Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal District Court. The court declared Act 15 (SB 256) unconstitutional. The decision is a major victory for voting rights and democratic accountability in Louisiana. Calvin Duncan, who spent 28 years wrongfully imprisoned before becoming a nationally recognized jailhouse lawyer and criminal justice reform advocate, was elected Clerk of Criminal District Court in November 2025 on a platform of transparency and accountability. Today marks the day he assumes his duly-elected office. On April 30, 2026, just four days before Duncan’s inauguration, Governor Landry signed Act 15 (SB 256) into law, eliminating the Clerk of Criminal District Court position and consolidating it with the Clerk of Civil District Court, currently held by Chelsey Napoleon. The law would have effectively appointed Napoleon to the consolidated position without requiring an election, nullifying the votes of nearly 40,000 New Orleans residents who elected Duncan. Duncan, represented by the ACLU of Louisiana, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and civil rights leaders Ron Wilson and Bill Quigley, filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order arguing that Act 15 violates his constitutional rights and those of New Orleans voters by nullifying a completed election and avoiding a constitutionally required election for the newly created position. A federal judge agreed. Today’s ruling temporarily blocks the provision of Act 15 that would have eliminated Duncan’s office, allowing him to take his seat as planned. “I am elated because the people’s right to vote is being honored,” said Calvin Duncan, Clerk of Criminal Court of Orleans Parish. “This ruling shows the power of the Constitution, when faithfully applied, to protect our right to vote. Today, and on all days, I am reminded that God is in control.” “Today the Constitution held the line. The federal court’s ruling striking down SB 256 affirms what 68 percent of New Orleans voters already knew when they elected Calvin Duncan: their voice cannot be erased by a legislature that disagrees with their choice,” said Alanah Odoms, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “The Louisiana Legislature attempted something this country has seen before: the targeted dismantling of Black political power through the machinery of law. The court saw it for what it was. This ruling landed in a week when the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais completed the gutting of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and opened the door for legislatures across the South to slash Black representation. In that darkness, today’s victory is a beacon — proof that the courts can still be a bulwark against the slow erosion of multiracial democracy. But beacons are not guarantees. We will keep fighting, in every courthouse and every statehouse, until the promise of the Reconstruction Amendments is fully kept.” “This decision will echo throughout not just Louisiana, but across the nation at a time when voting rights and the will of the people have been largely cast aside,” said Adina Marx-Arpadi, Justice Fellow and attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “This fight is not over, and we will not be backing down. Our win today is proof that we are on the right side of history.” Calvin Duncan will take office on May 4 as the duly-elected Clerk of Criminal District Court, ready to deliver the transparency, accountability, and dignity that New Orleans voters demanded. The legal fight is far from over. The defendants appealed the decision to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Calvin Duncan, the ACLU of Louisiana, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and civil rights leaders Ron Wilson and Bill Quigley will continue fighting to uphold the will of the people for as long as it takes. The ACLU of Louisiana leads the charge to protect the civil rights and liberties of Louisianians, especially those most marginalized and historically harmed. True to our founding during the Civil Rights Movement, we are fearless in the face of intimidation and fight tirelessly to protect and empower Louisiana’s Black, Brown, Immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities. We are part of a nationwide network of affiliates working in courts, legislatures, and communities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
Black News 
By Center For Constitutional Rights
Photos: Wikimedia Commons
May 4, 2026, New Orleans — A federal court Monday granted in part Calvin Duncan’s emergency motion for a temporary restraining order, blocking Governor Jeff Landry and state officials from eliminating the Orleans Parish Clerk of Criminal District Court. The court declared Act 15 (SB 256) unconstitutional. The decision is a major victory for voting rights and democratic accountability in Louisiana.
Calvin Duncan, who spent 28 years wrongfully imprisoned before becoming a nationally recognized jailhouse lawyer and criminal justice reform advocate, was elected Clerk of Criminal District Court in November 2025 on a platform of transparency and accountability. Today marks the day he assumes his duly-elected office.
On April 30, 2026, just four days before Duncan’s inauguration, Governor Landry signed Act 15 (SB 256) into law, eliminating the Clerk of Criminal District Court position and consolidating it with the Clerk of Civil District Court, currently held by Chelsey Napoleon. The law would have effectively appointed Napoleon to the consolidated position without requiring an election, nullifying the votes of nearly 40,000 New Orleans residents who elected Duncan.
Duncan, represented by the ACLU of Louisiana, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and civil rights leaders Ron Wilson and Bill Quigley, filed an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order arguing that Act 15 violates his constitutional rights and those of New Orleans voters by nullifying a completed election and avoiding a constitutionally required election for the newly created position. A federal judge agreed.
Today’s ruling temporarily blocks the provision of Act 15 that would have eliminated Duncan’s office, allowing him to take his seat as planned.
“I am elated because the people’s right to vote is being honored,” said Calvin Duncan, Clerk of Criminal Court of Orleans Parish. “This ruling shows the power of the Constitution, when faithfully applied, to protect our right to vote. Today, and on all days, I am reminded that God is in control.”
“Today the Constitution held the line. The federal court’s ruling striking down SB 256 affirms what 68 percent of New Orleans voters already knew when they elected Calvin Duncan: their voice cannot be erased by a legislature that disagrees with their choice,” said Alanah Odoms, Executive Director of the ACLU of Louisiana. “The Louisiana Legislature attempted something this country has seen before: the targeted dismantling of Black political power through the machinery of law. The court saw it for what it was. This ruling landed in a week when the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais completed the gutting of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and opened the door for legislatures across the South to slash Black representation. In that darkness, today’s victory is a beacon — proof that the courts can still be a bulwark against the slow erosion of multiracial democracy. But beacons are not guarantees. We will keep fighting, in every courthouse and every statehouse, until the promise of the Reconstruction Amendments is fully kept.”
“This decision will echo throughout not just Louisiana, but across the nation at a time when voting rights and the will of the people have been largely cast aside,” said Adina Marx-Arpadi, Justice Fellow and attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “This fight is not over, and we will not be backing down. Our win today is proof that we are on the right side of history.”
Calvin Duncan will take office on May 4 as the duly-elected Clerk of Criminal District Court, ready to deliver the transparency, accountability, and dignity that New Orleans voters demanded.
The legal fight is far from over. The defendants appealed the decision to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Calvin Duncan, the ACLU of Louisiana, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and civil rights leaders Ron Wilson and Bill Quigley will continue fighting to uphold the will of the people for as long as it takes.
The ACLU of Louisiana leads the charge to protect the civil rights and liberties of Louisianians, especially those most marginalized and historically harmed. True to our founding during the Civil Rights Movement, we are fearless in the face of intimidation and fight tirelessly to protect and empower Louisiana’s Black, Brown, Immigrant, and LGBTQ+ communities. We are part of a nationwide network of affiliates working in courts, legislatures, and communities in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington, D.C.
