Calvin Duncan Elected New Orleans Criminal Court Clerk After Exoneration

Lead

Calvin Duncan, an exoneree and former jailhouse lawyer, won election as clerk of the Orleans Parish criminal court in the Nov. 15–16, 2025 runoff, defeating incumbent Darren Lombard. Preliminary results from the Louisiana secretary of state show Mr. Duncan received about 68 percent of the vote. Voters were drawn to his promise to modernize records and expand access after he spent decades securing his own freedom. The result elevated a low-profile administrative post into a proxy debate over wrongful convictions and records transparency.

Key Takeaways

• Calvin Duncan won the criminal court clerk runoff with approximately 68 percent of the vote, per preliminary Louisiana secretary of state returns.
• The race drew unusual attention after incumbent Darren Lombard publicly questioned whether Mr. Duncan had been exonerated.
• Mr. Duncan served 28 years in prison before securing freedom in 2011; a judge later found him factually innocent and his plea was expunged.
• He campaigned on digitizing and improving public access to court records, citing repeated difficulty obtaining documents in New Orleans.
• Lombard was first elected in 2021 and was endorsed by mayor-elect Helena Moreno and Rep. Troy Carter.
• In September 2025 Louisiana AG Liz Murrill wrote that Mr. Duncan’s claim of exoneration was misleading; more than 160 lawyers and experts publicly countered that he meets standard definitions of exoneration.
• Innocence Project New Orleans (later Innocence & Justice Louisiana) played a central role in the work that led to Mr. Duncan’s release in 2011.

Background

Calvin Duncan was convicted in 1981 of fatally shooting a 23-year-old man during a robbery and later served nearly three decades at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, Angola. While incarcerated he became a self-taught legal researcher and assisted other inmates with appeals and record requests, earning a reputation as a skilled jailhouse lawyer. His work reached beyond the prison yard: he contributed to legal arguments that progressed through Louisiana courts and at times reached the U.S. Supreme Court level.

His personal battle with the record-keeping systems in New Orleans helped shape his politicized view of the clerk’s office. Duncan and advocates say locating court files in New Orleans was often cumbersome or fruitless, fueling his campaign pledge to digitize records and streamline public access. The office he ran for oversees filings, evidence, and case metadata that many defense attorneys and innocence advocates say are crucial to fair post-conviction review.

Main Event

The contest began as a routine local race but shifted after public attacks from the incumbent, Darren Lombard, who alleged Mr. Duncan had not been truly exonerated and implied ties to violent crime. Those assertions prompted pushback from dozens of legal experts, innocence advocates and the National Registry of Exonerations, which included Mr. Duncan in its database. The dispute amplified the election, turning procedural responsibilities into questions of credibility and records access.

Preliminary returns reported by the Louisiana secretary of state showed Mr. Duncan expanding a late surge into a commanding runoff victory, winning roughly 68 percent of the vote. Turnout in the clerk runoff was reported to be comparable to the previous comparable runoff, even as the race received far more public scrutiny this year. Lombard issued a short statement accepting the voters’ decision while disputing the result’s implications.

Mr. Duncan celebrated the win as the culmination of decades of work. He highlighted how delays and gaps in records had harmed incarcerated people and said he would prioritize digitization and improved public service. Campaign filings and local reports show his message resonated across constituencies concerned with transparency and post-conviction review.

Analysis & Implications

The result signals local appetite for officials who foreground records access and post-conviction remedies. A clerk committed to digitization can materially speed discovery, appeals and innocence investigations, especially in jurisdictions where paper records remain siloed. If Duncan implements promised changes, lawyers and advocates estimate case-document search times could fall sharply, reducing procedural barriers for post-conviction petitions.

Politically, the race illustrates how even administrative offices can become referendums on broader criminal-justice issues. Lombard’s attack on Duncan’s exoneration status backfired in a city with a documented history of wrongful convictions, shifting voter focus toward systemic reform rather than personal history. The outcome may encourage similar candidates elsewhere to emphasize administrative fixes with civil-liberty implications.

There are practical limits: modernizing county-level records requires sustained funding, interoperable technical systems and staff training. Duncan’s authority as clerk will face institutional constraints—budget committees, city procurement rules and the existing court bureaucracy will shape how quickly and comprehensively digitization is achieved. Success will depend on securing resources and navigating local governance processes.

Comparison & Data

The table highlights the trajectory from long confinement to electoral victory and contextualizes the vote share relative to Duncan’s campaign themes. While a clerk’s office is not a policy-making entity, administrative control over records can produce concrete legal and procedural changes affecting appeals and innocence work.

Reactions & Quotes

“Tonight is a dream that’s been 40 years in the making. I hope that all those people who died in prison because we couldn’t get their records are looking down now.”

Calvin Duncan

Mr. Duncan framed the victory as collective and transformative, linking his personal history to a broader campaign for systemic transparency.

“The voters of Orleans Parish have spoken, and I respect their decision,”

Darren Lombard (incumbent)

Lombard acknowledged the result while maintaining that the contest and its claims had raised legitimate questions about qualifications and record interpretation.

“The facts, the law and the procedural history are clear,”

Letter by 160+ lawyers and legal experts

More than 160 legal professionals issued a public statement affirming that Mr. Duncan meets conventional definitions of exoneration, responding to public assertions to the contrary.

Unconfirmed

• The breadth of any alleged ongoing ties between Mr. Duncan and violent offenders beyond the facts of his 1981 conviction remains unsubstantiated in public records.
• The long-term timeline and specific funding sources for a full-digitization plan under the new clerk have not been finalized or publicly detailed.
• Claims that Mr. Duncan’s case was not an exoneration hinge on differing legal definitions; procedural disagreements persist despite independent registries listing him as exonerated.

Bottom Line

Calvin Duncan’s victory turns a traditionally administrative post into a focal point for debates about records access, wrongful convictions and the practical levers of justice reform. His personal history gives him credibility with advocates who say slower access to records has blocked legitimate appeals and investigations.

Implementation will determine whether the election produces durable change: digitization and faster records retrieval require funding, planning and cooperation across courts and government agencies. Observers should watch early budget proposals, procurement steps and pilot projects the clerk’s office proposes in the coming months.

Sources

• The New York Times (news report)
• National Registry of Exonerations (academic clearinghouse)
• Innocence & Justice Louisiana (nonprofit organization)
• Louisiana Secretary of State (official election results portal)
• Louisiana Attorney General (official communications)