The Louisiana Supreme Court has appointed St. Tammany and Washington Parish District Attorney Collin Sims as a special prosecutor to investigate the indictment of Attorney General Liz Murrill.
The order empowers Sims to begin a grand jury investigation into the events that led to the charges against Murrill -- now dropped -- that came out over the summer.
A special grand jury in New Orleans issued the indictment on July 2, charging Murrill with 16 felony counts including public intimidation, after Murrill said New Orleans officials could face removal from office for appointing an interim court clerk when the position of Clerk of Orleans Criminal Court was eliminated via a new state law.
The state supreme court later ruled that law properly merged the criminal clerk of court's office with the Clerk of Orleans Civil Court, and maintained Orleans Clerk of Court Chelsea Napoleon in that position.
Murrill said the actions of the mayor, city council, and Orleans D.A. Jason Williams unlawfully usurped the state legislature's authority.
The indictment of Murrill was dropped after New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno, the four city council members who voted the interim appointment, and Williams asked the special prosecutor for that investigation, retired Criminal Court Judge Laurie White, to dismiss the charges.
The affair strained relations between the city of New Orleans and the attorney general's office, as well as with Governor Jeff Landry, Murrill's most prominent political ally. Landry has said he has not spoken directly with Moreno since the indictment.
