All Charges Against Attorney General Liz Murrill Dropped

All 16 felony charges against Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill have been dismissed, bringing an abrupt end to the criminal case that had intensified the already bitter political fight between state leaders and officials in New Orleans.

Special prosecutor and former Orleans Parish Criminal District Court Judge Laurie White dismissed the indictment Wednesday, July 22. Murrill had been indicted by an Orleans Parish grand jury on July 2 on eight counts of malfeasance in office and eight counts of public intimidation. The charges centered on letters Murrill sent to New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno and other city officials during a dispute over implementation of a new state law restructuring the city’s clerk of court offices.

The dismissal came one day after Moreno, Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and five members of the New Orleans City Council asked White to drop the case. The officials targeted by the alleged intimidation told the special prosecutor they did not want the prosecution to continue.

The prosecution had already faced significant legal problems. Less than 24 hours after Murrill was indicted, the Louisiana Supreme Court stayed the proceedings and allowed the attorney general to file motions challenging the indictment. The court raised concerns about the procedure surrounding the grand jury proceedings, including reports that journalists were removed from the courthouse before the indictment was returned. The Supreme Court later ordered the arrest warrant issued for Murrill recalled.

Murrill maintained from the beginning that her communications with city officials were part of her responsibility as attorney general and did not constitute criminal conduct. Following the dismissal, she called the prosecution malicious and said there had never been a crime.

“This case should have NEVER been started because there was NO crime,” Murrill said after the charges were dismissed.

While the criminal case against Murrill is now over, the political fallout appears far from finished. Gov. Jeff Landry and Murrill have called for further scrutiny of how the indictment was pursued, including the possibility of a federal investigation. Landry has also suggested the controversy could have broader consequences for the relationship between state government and New Orleans.

The dismissal ends one of the most extraordinary legal battles involving a statewide elected official in recent Louisiana politics, but the fight that produced it continues to deepen divisions between Republican state leaders and the Democratic leadership of New Orleans.