Calvin Duncan

Calvin Duncan, J.D. is an adjunct instructor in the Tulane School of Professional Advancement, where he teaches Criminal Law (GLSP 4080) in the General Legal Studies Program.  Mr. Duncan is the director of the Light of Justice Program, a program assisting incarcerated individuals to overcome procedural barriers in accessing the court at the post-conviction relief stage of the criminal legal system.

At the age of 19, Mr. Duncan was charged with a capital crime.  A jury rejected the State’s request to have Mr. Duncan executed in Louisiana’s electric chair.  Mr. Duncan was sentenced to the remainder of his life in prison.  During Mr. Duncan’s time in prison, he became a jailhouse lawyer assisting other prisoners seek justice from unlawful convictions, including those sentenced to Louisiana’s Death Row.   After being in prison for 28½ years, on Jan. 7, 2011, the Innocence Project New Orleans secured Mr. Duncan’s release from prison. Soon after, his educational journey at Tulane University’s School of Advancement began.

After Mr. Duncan received his Paralegal Certificate, Associate of Arts Degree, and Bachelor of Arts Degree in Paralegal Studies in 2019, he applied and was accepted at Lewis & Clark Law School.  Mr. Duncan received his J.D. on May 20, 2023.

Mr. Duncan has had a remarkable legal career.  While in prison, he assisted a myriad of incarcerated individuals in undoing unjust convictions and sentences.  Wilbert Rideau, who was convicted for murder and sentenced to death, wrote in his book, In the Place of Justice, “Calvin Duncan, the most brilliant legal mind in Angola, did the legal research necessary for my case.” 

For 15 years, Mr. Duncan taught law courses to other incarcerated individual to empower them to advocate from themselves.  He worked with the litigation team that led the United States Supreme Court to rule that Louisiana’s non-unanimous jury verdict law unconstitutional.

Read more about Calvin Duncan:

“A Relentless Jailhouse Lawyer Propels a Case to the Supreme Court,” New York Times, Adam Liptak, Aug. 5, 2019.
“Tulane SoPA plays vital role in alum’s journey from prison to JD,” Tulane University, June 1, 2023.