New Orleans Criminal Court Clerk Darren Lombard this weekend escalated attacks against a stiff election challenge he faces, accusing challenger Calvin Duncan in a video of “killing an innocent man" even though Duncan was cleared of criminal charges after serving 28 years in prison.

Now those tactics, which have rendered the clerk's race among the most volatile in New Orleans' municipal cycle, are under mounting criticism from attorneys, who say they lack legal basis.

Loyola College of Law professor Andrea Armstrong, University of Virginia law instructor Thomas Frampton and Baton Rouge defense lawyer James Boren were among 70 attorneys who signed a letter Monday saying the 2021 vacation of Duncan's conviction left no doubt about his innocence under the law.

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