Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill
NEW ORLEANS – The Louisiana Supreme Court pulled back an arrest warrant Friday accusing state Attorney General Liz Murrill of malfeasance and intimidation.
The state’s highest court had to intervene after an Orleans Parish grand jury indicted Murrill Thursday on 16 felony counts.
“This Court’s July 3, 2026 Stay obviously prevents the state from pursuing the Attorney General’s arrest or any other step in the prosecution, except as authorized by this Court’s prior Per Curiam,” the two-page order states.
“In order to add clarity and specificity where none should have been required, IT IS ORDERED the Emergency Motion is GRANTED and the alias capias and/or arrest warrant issued in this matter is hereby RECALLED, nunc pro tunc.
“IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that Special Prosecutor Laurie White, Sheriff Michelle Woodfork, and any other person or agency so tasked, shall remove the alias capias and/or arrest warrant from any law enforcement database into which it was entered, and that the alias capias and/or arrest warrant is vacated pending further Order of this Court.”
Murrill filed an emergency stay motion late Thursday. The Supreme Court granted the stay order early Friday.
Then, Murrill filed an emergency appeal with the Supreme Court after claiming that White refused to withdraw her arrest warrant – even though the Supreme Court had stayed the indictment.
The warrant, according to news reports, was finally pulled Saturday morning. Murrill issued the following statement:
“Another WIN – Louisiana Supreme Court BLOCKS New Orleans special prosecutor’s refusal to remove the arrest warrant. She is ORDERED to comply.”
The indictment against Murrill, which includes eight counts of public intimidation and eight counts of malfeasance in office, stems from letters that the attorney general sent to Orleans Parish officials – including Mayor Helena Moreno, District Attorney Jason Williams, and various city council members – in May.
According to news reports, Murrill’s letters warned the officials that they could be removed from office if they didn’t stop interfering with a new state law aimed at reforming lower courts.
The law, passed this spring, merged Orleans Parish criminal and civil courts. Recently-elected Clerk of Court Calvin Duncan was ousted as a result.
In response, Orleans Parish officials appointed Judge Calvin Johnson as interim clerk and called for a special election.
That’s when Murrill stepped in, sending letters to officials warning them that their actions could result in them losing their positions.
Murrill told local news outlets earlier this week that she was unaware of any investigation into her actions.
However, the Orleans Parish grand jury met Thursday and reportedly reviewed evidence from White.
According to WDSU News, jurors returned a “true bill,” meaning they found probable cause to move forward with charges against Murrill.
Upon learning of the charges, Murrill said in a statement late Thursday that it was “no surprise” that Orleans Parish officials were targeting her.
“After taking on violent crime and entrenched corruption in New Orleans, it’s no surprise the status quo is looking for ways to stop me,” the attorney general said.
“This unprecedented action and the corrupt indictments spawned from it are retaliatory, meritless, and unconstitutional.”
Gov. Jeff Landry, in a statement, thanked the Supreme Court for “halting this circus” and said it was “nothing short of a political witch hunt” against Murrill.
“These type [sic] of abuses and misuse of public monies to carry out this illegal proceeding is an example of why New Orleans is in a budget crisis,” he said. “Instead of spending money to prosecute thugs, you spend money to prosecute the prosecutor.”
