Liz Murrill

Officials are asking the highest court to decide whether the state legislature can abolish an elected position after someone has already been elected.

Calvin Duncan, who was elected to New Orleans’ clerk of criminal court position, has resumed his federal lawsuit against state officials and the law that abolished his position.

The agreement was announced Thursday on the first day of classes for Bossier Parish Schools near Shreveport.

The court ruled 4-3 that a simple legislative majority was enough to pass the bill through.

Officials said the city is “now better served by moving forward rather than by prolonging litigation.”

Murrill’s 16-count indictment stems from letters she sent New Orleans city officials in May. Murrill is accused of threatening their jobs in the letters.

In his lawsuit, Judge John T. Fuller alleged neither legislative chamber met a constitutional requirement, but the bill was passed and signed into law anyway.

The nonprofit health care organization’s two health centers in the state shut down in September due to what Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast called “relentless political assaults.”

In the civil rights suit, Duncan alleges that Gov. Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill engaged in a “coordinated conspiracy” to keep Duncan from taking office.

Outgoing Orleans Parish Sheriff Susan Hutson has been indicted by a special grand jury in New Orleans in connection with a major jailbreak at the Orleans Parish jail last May.