Overview
- An empaneled Orleans Parish grand jury is considering an investigation into Attorney General Liz Murrill with former judge Laurie White appointed as a special prosecutor and multiple witnesses already called.
- Sources say the panel initiated the inquiry on its own and is expected to decide on next steps this week, though that outcome may not lead to criminal charges.
- The probe traces to letters Murrill sent to Mayor Helena Moreno, the City Council and others that warned their effort to install an alternate clerk conflicted with Act 15 and could trigger usurper-law penalties.
- Murrill’s position is that Act 15 consolidated clerk offices and left Chelsey Richard Napoleon as the lawful clerk, while city leaders rejected the letters as threats and asked courts to resolve the dispute.
- Beyond any grand jury action, the broader legal fight turns on Act 15 and possible review by the Louisiana Supreme Court, and the coming decision could affect how state and local officials use usurper statutes.