Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill’s new claims in a lawsuit against the Caddo Parish Commission could impact how local bodies around the state conduct business and -- if a judge agrees -- subject their previous votes to legal challenges.

In an August lawsuit, Murrill said the Caddo commission violated Louisiana’s open meetings law first by privately voting to adopt a resolution welcoming U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vermont, to Shreveport's Municipal Auditorium, and then by ratifying it later electronically at a public meeting.

The state's open meetings law requires public bodies to conduct business publicly and to record votes viva voce, or using their live voices. Citing that law, Murrill asked a judge to nullify the board's July 3 ratification of the resolution.

"By conducting

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