What The Practice Of State Preemption Means For Our Democracy

1A · May 6, 2026 · 41m

Last November, Calvin Duncan won an election to serve as the chief records keeper for the criminal courts of the parish that covers New Orleans.

He received 68 percent of the vote, beating out a powerful incumbent. He has some personal experience with Louisiana courts. He was incarcerated for a murder conviction for 28 years. He studied criminal law to advocate for himself, and a judge eventually found him innocent. He was freed in 2011.

But now, the Louisiana state legislature has moved to eliminate his position. State officials voted to combine his office with another in a move that state…