Justice and Jazz in the Quarter - II - The Sequel!
 

Jean Farria

Jean Faria – is a well-known, and highly respected, Baton Rouge criminal defense lawyer. Jean was the capital case coordinator for the Louisiana Public Defender Board for over 7 years. From 2008-2013, she served the then-newly created Louisiana Public Defender Board as the state public defender. In that capacity, she employed and contracted with personnel for services to carry out the responsibilities of the Board. She was responsible for the development of Louisiana's performance standards, delinquency standards, CINC standards, and capital standards and guidelines. With the highly talented LPDB staff, she developed the strategic plan for the delivery of public defense services and prepared and submitted for LPDB and legislative approval a 33 million dollar budget.

Before becoming the state public defender in 2008, Jean served as the Assistant Federal Defender for the Middle and Western Districts of Louisiana, in Baton Rouge, LA. From 1995-1997 she was the Chief Executive Officer of the Louisiana Indigent Defender Board in New Orleans, LA. In that capacity, she designed and implemented indigent defense system programs at the direction of the LIDB, collected and analyzed caseload and financial data; created and administered $7.5 million budget; supervised and directed LIDB staff; functioned as liaison to the Louisiana Supreme Court, legislature, executive counsel, and chief defenders across the state and the country. Prior to that, she worked as a public defender in the 19th JDC Public Defender Office in Baton Rouge.

Jean received a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1973 and received her J.D. from Louisiana State University School of Law in 1983.

She has been active in the public defense reform movement, both locally and nationally, for more than 40 years. She is a charter member of the Louisiana Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and long-standing member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. For more than 10 years she served on the Board of Directors of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association and spent significant time as the Chair of the Defender Policy Group within that organization. She is a founding member of the National Association for Public Defense. She served as the Chair of the Indigent Defense Advisory Group to the Standing Committee on Legal Aid and Indigent Defendants (SCLAID) of the American Bar Association. Ms. Faria regularly lectures at criminal defense trainings and participates in policy research of state public defender systems around the country.

Calvin Duncan

Calvin Duncan was elected as the Clerk of Criminal Court for Orleans Parish in September of 2025. Calvin grew up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. Prior to his election, he was director of The Light of Justice Program, whose mission is to assist incarcerated individuals in gaining access to the courts. In this role, Calvin provided legal support in capital and non-capital cases, helping people understand the criminal legal system so they can make informed decisions to avoid the death penalty and, in some cases, life imprisonment.

On January 7, 2011, the Innocence Project of New Orleans secured Calvin’s release after he had served 28½ years for a crime he did not commit. While incarcerated, Calvin worked as a legal counsel substitute for 23 years; for 19 of those years he assisted individuals on Louisiana’s Death Row. He also taught law classes to incarcerated people for 15 years.

After his release, Calvin enrolled in the Tulane University School of Continuing Studies, pursuing a degree in paralegal studies. In 2013, the Open Society Foundation awarded him the Soros Justice Fellowship to support his work helping incarcerated individuals overcome procedural barriers to court access. During this fellowship, he also contributed to efforts to change Louisiana’s non-unanimous jury verdict law.

Calvin is a co-founder of The First 72+, which provides transitional housing for people recently released from prison, and Rising Foundations, an organization dedicated to ending cycles of incarceration. In 2015, he received the Echoing Green Black Male Achievement Fellowship. In June 2017, he earned his Associate of Arts degree and Paralegal Certificate from Tulane University. That same year he also received the Pony Award from the Street Lawyers. He completed his Bachelor of Arts in Paralegal Studies at Tulane in August 2018 and received his J.D. from Lewis & Clark Law School in May 2023.

Calvin’s memoir, The Jailhouse Lawyer, was published by Penguin Random House in July 2025.

Curtis Duncan’s journey reflects the power of perseverance and justice.