Overview
- An Orleans Parish grand jury returned a 16-count indictment charging AG Liz Murrill with malfeasance and public intimidation over eight letters she sent to local officials on May 13 that warned about the legal effect of Act 15.
- Orleans Criminal District Judge Leon Roche issued an alias capias arrest warrant and set bond before the state high court intervened.
- The Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday stayed the indictment and recalled the arrest warrant after finding that the grand-jury process showed procedural defects and that Laurie White’s role as special prosecutor raised potential conflicts.
- The court allowed prosecutors to respond to Murrill’s defensive pleadings in district court while the stay remains in place, leaving the substantive questions about Act 15, the usurper statutes, and the merits of the charges unresolved.
- The dispute grew from Act 15’s consolidation of Orleans Parish clerk offices and has prompted sharp political reactions, raised new scrutiny of how Louisiana grand juries are run, and put special‑prosecutor appointment rules under the spotlight.