On July 2, a grand jury charged Attorney General Liz Murrill with 16 felonies because of letters she sent in May to New Orleans officials during the Orleans Parish clerk of court dispute. One day later, the Louisiana Supreme Court halted the case, found her likely to prevail on a motion to dismiss and cited serious problems in how the charges were obtained.
I hold no brief for the attorney general, and no quarrel with New Orleans. Yet this case is a symptom of a dangerous national habit: using criminal charges to fight political battles. Lawfare has no winners, and no one who loves this country should want it to become normal.
A new law, Act 15, combined the two Orleans Parish clerk of court offices into one, as in every other parish. Officials disagreed in good faith: One side believed it created a vacant office for the City Council to fill; the attorney general believed it merged the old office into the existing one, leaving no vacancy. Her letters stated her position, quoted the law word for word, and said she would file a civil suit if the appointment went forward. It was an ordinary “demand letter,” sent by lawyers by the thousands every year. Such letters are sometimes unwelcome, sometimes even wrong. They are not crimes…