Prosecutor drops felony case against Louisiana attorney general
louisiana’s special prosecutor dropped criminal charges against Attorney General Liz Murrill after local officials she allegedly threatened urged her to do so. Murrill was facing a 16-count felony indictment for intimidating city officials through letters in May, related to court system reforms she supported. The charges were dismissed after Mayor Helena Moreno, District Attorney Jason Williams, and other officials wrote letters requesting the case’s dismissal, asserting they were not intimidated. Murrill argued the case never should have started, claiming no crime occurred, and criticized the process as an abuse of the justice system. The dispute arose when new legislation affected court clerk positions, leading Murrill to accuse local officials of seeking to undermine the law by appointing an interim clerk and scheduling an election. Murrill threatened to jail the interim clerk and suggested that the governor could remove officials who opposed her actions. Despite an indictment and a grand jury proceeding, the Louisiana Supreme Court intervened, citing issues with the proceedings, and granted a stay. The case was ultimately dropped, with Murrill emphasizing her intent to continue her efforts despite the setback.
A Louisiana special prosecutor on Wednesday dropped criminal charges against the state’s attorney general after being urged to do so by the local officials she was accused of threatening.
Prosecutor Laurie White dismissed charges against Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill after a New Orleans grand jury handed down a 16-count felony indictment against her earlier this month following allegations she intimidated Mayor Helena Moreno, District Attorney Jason Williams, retired judge Calvin Johnson, and five City Council members through letters in May.
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“This case should have NEVER been started because there was NO crime,” Murrill said in a statement. “This outcome will not deter my efforts to get to the bottom of this. The irresponsible and illegal actions that led to this abuse of the criminal justice system need to never happen again.”
White dropped the criminal charges after Moreno and five council members wrote a letter to White on Tuesday asking her to drop the charges of intimidation and malfeasance, saying they were “not intimidated” by Murrill’s actions. Williams and Johnson also wrote separate letters, urging White to drop the case.
The debacle began in May, when the state legislature passed a measure to reform the court system in changes that were backed by Murrill. The new law eliminated the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court’s position by consolidating the Orleans Parish civil and criminal court clerks into one position. The law prevented Calvin Duncan, who was easily elected to the criminal court clerk’s post in November, from assuming office in May. Duncan had been attacked by the GOP due to questions about being a murderer. He served roughly three decades at Angola State Penitentiary for a 1981 murder he was later cleared of committing.
Murrill accused local officials who opposed the law of seeking to circumvent it by appointing an interim clerk, Johnson, and scheduling an election for Nov. 3, in which voters would pick a permanent officeholder, most likely Duncan. Murrill said the combined agencies were under the control of the remaining clerk, Chelsey Richard Napoleon.
She threatened to jail Johnson if he performed any of the clerk’s duties and sent individual letters on May 13 to Moreno and other New Orleans city officials that suggested Gov. Jeff Landry (R-LA) had the authority to remove them from office if they continued to oppose the law.
A grand jury indicted her on charges of intimidation in July, leading Landry to issue a statement promising to pardon Murrill if she was convicted and warning against the “Kangaroo court.” The Louisiana Supreme Court also intervened, putting a stay on the attorney general’s indictment and recalling a warrant for her arrest.
In the stay order, the state Supreme Court agreed that the jury proceedings that led to Murrill’s indictment took place under questionable circumstances.
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“By all public accounts, the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court violated express provisions of state law requiring that grand jury returns occur in the public eye, ‘in open court,’” the order read. ”Numerous media outlets have stated that reporters were handcuffed and removed from these otherwise public proceedings.”
The Republican Attorneys General Association also backed Murrill, arguing that she was carrying out her duties through the warning letter, by “issuing a legal opinion and warning public officials about the law.”
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