The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday issued a temporary halt to the prosecution of the state’s Republican attorney general, Liz Murrill, following her indictment on multiple charges related to official correspondence sent to New Orleans city officials. The development came just a day after a grand jury in New Orleans returned a 16-count indictment against Murrill, accusing her of malfeasance in office and intimidation and retaliation against public officials.
Murrill quickly filed an emergency appeal asking the state’s highest court to intervene. The court’s order, issued early Friday, supported her argument that there were significant procedural flaws in the grand jury process and questioned the grand jury’s interpretation of the statutes alleged to have been violated. The justices noted that the indictment appeared to invert the intended application of the law and cited “extraordinary procedural defects and improprieties” as grounds for the stay.
In a statement following the court’s decision, Murrill denounced the charges as politically motivated and expressed gratitude to the court for its intervention. However, she indicated that the legal battle was far from over, pledging to seek dismissal of the charges through forthcoming motions. “I hope this political witch hunt is not a harbinger of things to come, but I fear that it is,” she remarked, accusing the special prosecutor, judge, and grand jury of acting with bias and vindictiveness.
The indictment stems from a protracted conflict between New Orleans city officials, who lean left politically, and Louisiana’s conservative state administration. Tensions escalated following recent reforms to the city’s judicial system, including the consolidation of the separately elected criminal and civil court clerk positions into a single office—a move critics saw as a direct response to the election of Calvin Duncan. Duncan, a former inmate exonerated after nearly three decades in prison, had been poised to assume the criminal clerk role before the restructuring was implemented.
City officials challenged the state’s characterization of the reform, asserting that the changes effectively created an entirely new clerk of courts office. After the City Council appointed a retired judge to the new position and scheduled a special election—actions occurring with the sitting civil court clerk still in office—Murrill sent letters in May to several local officials, including Mayor Helena Moreno and District Attorney Jason Williams. In these letters, she warned that their actions violated Louisiana’s “usurper statutes” and threatened potential removal from office, asserting that Governor Jeff Landry could appoint replacements.
Moreno condemned Murrill’s letters as a “blatant threat” aimed at officials for challenging state authority, alleging that Murrill’s conduct was unlawful. Subsequently, a grand jury initiated an investigation into Murrill’s actions. Following the recusal of District Attorney Williams, a retired judge appointed Laurie White as a special prosecutor for the case.
Media reports described chaotic scenes at the New Orleans criminal courthouse during the indictment proceedings, with several journalists and a legal advocate reportedly detained or handcuffed as they attempted to cover the case. The Supreme Court’s stay referenced concerns over these disturbances and pointed to possible conflicts of interest involving Special Prosecutor White. White previously worked as legal counsel for Duncan and has been involved in litigation with the attorney general’s office, which accused her of sexual harassment and retaliation during her tenure as a judge—allegations she denies.
White, who could not be reached for comment on Friday, addressed reporters at a news conference, acknowledging public frustration toward state officials. She expressed bewilderment at her appointment and involvement in the case, stating, “I didn’t even know what I was being appointed for.”
The outcome of the legal proceedings remains uncertain as the state’s highest court has paused the prosecution pending further examination of the case’s legal and procedural issues.