Category
Criminal Justice
Asking why and how, and what needs to be done.
Duncan takes oath of office
He may not have an office to assume if the legislature moves to eliminate the clerk of criminal court. But on Tuesday, Calvin Duncan was sworn into the office, to reflect the will of the electorate, he said.
Incarcerated man dies after struggle with correctional officers in Angola dorm
Witnesses inside the prison say that Basile was acting erratically and suffered a broken neck.
Consolidation or retaliation? Republican lawmakers move to eliminate the job Calvin Duncan won in a landslide election
Criminal justice reporter Bernard Smith and editor Katy Reckdahl examine Senate Bill 256 and the effort to eliminate the position won by Calvin Duncan, raising questions about consolidation, political power, and the will of voters.
Perceived criminal-court caseloads vary wildly across parishes
With no uniform definition of what makes a ‘case,’ legislators must blindly guess at court caseloads.
Carnival crackdown: What 100 gun arrest reports say about policing during Mardi Gras
During Mardi Gras in New Orleans, police ramp up gun enforcement in crowded areas like Bourbon Street. But a review of recent arrests shows deep racial disparities, legal concerns over stops and searches, and growing debate over whether these tactics meaningfully reduce violence.
Hearing at Loyola gives a rare look ‘behind the curtain,’ at an often-invisible part of Louisiana’s justice system
An on-campus hearing showed decisions about freedom decided in real time, for men who have prepared for decades for a chance at parole.
Did faulty court data drive the legislative push to cut 11 judges and clerk in Orleans Parish?
Filings tracked by the Louisiana Supreme Court significantly undercount the number of people processed in Orleans Parish Criminal District Court in 2025.
Louisiana Senate rejects amendment to let newly elected clerk Calvin Duncan serve his term
In ‘deeply troubling’ move, senators pass three bills, cutting Duncan’s Orleans clerk position along with 11 New Orleans judges.
Louisiana DOC could grant earlier release to terminally ill people
Louisiana lawmakers are considering a proposal to expand medical parole, allowing terminally ill inmates to be released up to 120 days before their expected deaths.
