He Was Exonerated in a Murder and Elected to Office. He May Never Serve.
Calvin Duncan started learning the law as a matter of necessity, he said. He was serving a life sentence for murder and wanted to prove his innocence.
He not only regained his freedom, but helped many other incarcerated people do the same. He graduated from law school at age 60. And last November, he was elected to the job of criminal court clerk in New Orleans, ousting an incumbent after drawing an unusual level of attention to a race that rarely attracts any.
But Mr. Duncan may never get to serve. State lawmakers in Louisiana are racing to abolish the office altogether before he assumes it on May 4.
Republican officials in Louisiana want to eliminate the criminal court clerk job as part of a more sweeping effort to reshape the judicial system in New Orleans, which detractors have long derided as costly and inefficient. The plan, they say, would save money by cutting judges and consolidating court functions.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/23/us/calvin-duncan-new-orleans-election.html