Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill
BATON ROUGE – A special prosecutor has dismissed felony criminal charges against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, who was indicted on accusations of threatening the jobs of New Orleans officials who fought a Republican-led overhaul of courts.
Special Prosecutor Laurie White’s July 22 dismissal came a day after New Orleans District Attorney Jason Williams, Mayor Helena Moreno and five City Council members sent letters asking her to drop the case. The case had been on hold since the July 2 indictment after the state Supreme Court said the local court and White did not follow proper procedures.
“This case should have NEVER been started because there was NO crime,” Murrill said in a social media statement about the decision. “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 submitted the letters from the New Orleans officials to the court before each count was dismissed. Then, the case against Murrill was ordered closed, according to court filings.
The indictment against Murrill, which included eight counts of public intimidation and eight counts of malfeasance in office, stemmed from letters she sent to Orleans Parish officials – including Moreno, Williams and various city council members – in May.
According to news reports, Murrill’s letters warned the Democratic officials 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.
Gov. Jeff Landry had promised a swift pardon for Murrill, saying the fellow Republican would not have her reputation damaged by an “Orleans Kangaroo court.”
