Judge Approves Subpoenas for Orleans DA, Special Prosecutor in Murrill Case

LAFAYETTE, La. — Ad-hoc Judge Robert Chaisson signed off Tuesday on subpoenas for records from Orleans Parish District Attorney Jason Williams and special prosecutor Laurie White, a request tied to Attorney General Liz Murrill’s effort to have her indictment thrown out.

The subpoenas seek phone records, text messages and emails that reference Murrill by name or touch on the grand jury proceedings that led to her indictment earlier this month.

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What the Subpoenas Cover

Murrill’s attorneys want correspondence between White and the district attorney’s office that mentions Murrill, the indictment or the grand jury. They’re also after any communication White had with Mayor Helena Moreno, Judge Leon Roche or anyone outside the grand jury about the case.

The subpoenas reach further into Williams’ side of the office too, targeting correspondence with Moreno, Roche, City Council President J.P. Morrell, former Congressman Cedric Richmond and state Sen. Gary Carter. Both Williams and White have to turn over any communications with members of the media, plus draft copies of the indictment itself.

Attorney Laura Rodrigue, who represents Murrill, says the records are necessary for the attorney general’s push to quash the indictment before she has to answer to 16 felony counts of public intimidation and malfeasance in office.

Background on the Indictment

The case traces back to a July 2 indictment, when an Orleans Parish grand jury charged Murrill over letters she sent in May to Moreno, Williams and five City Council members. Those letters threatened removal from office if the officials kept resisting a new state law that consolidated the city’s criminal and civil clerk of court offices.

Murrill never got booked. The Louisiana Supreme Court stepped in with an emergency stay within about a day of the indictment. All twelve judges on the Orleans Parish Criminal District Court then recused themselves, which is why the state’s high court brought in Chaisson, a retired appellate judge, to run the case.

The Supreme Court’s stay order found “considerable support” that Murrill is likely to win a motion to quash the indictment, whether on legal grounds or procedural irregularities. Williams had already stepped back from the matter once the grand jury turned its attention to Murrill, and Roche brought in White, a former criminal court judge, to handle it as special prosecutor.

What Happens Next

Murrill’s attorneys still hadn’t filed their formal motion to quash as of the subpoena approval. But the breadth of what they’re asking for points to where the defense is headed: how the grand jury investigation got started, and who had a hand in shaping it, from White’s appointment to Williams’ recusal.

Williams’ office hasn’t commented on the subpoenas. It’s not yet clear how fast the records will turn over, or whether Williams or White will push back before complying.