Federal Bar Association and its Justice Camp program present: From Jailhouse Lawyer to Clerk of Court
In a Q&A format, Sophie Cull, as moderator, and Calvin Duncan will candidly recount his journey within Louisiana's legal system as an impoverished defendant during the 1980s. He will shed light on the daunting challenges he encountered while attempting to obtain his records, navigate the appeals process, and fight his case without external legal assistance. Calvin will explore how evolving laws throughout his incarceration placed greater barriers for prisoners, particularly those from impoverished backgrounds, to access the justice system. Calvin will touch on the distinctive dynamics of attorney-client relationships and illuminate the crucial role played by jailhouse lawyers within the legal landscape. He will describe how he and fellow prisoners at Angola's prison law library managed to educate themselves on the law and build friendships that sustained them in the face of impossible odds.
Sophie Cull: Sophie Cull is a writer and criminal justice reform advocate based in New Orleans. Her collaborations include The Jailhouse Lawyer, a New York Public Library Best Book of 2025, coauthored with Calvin Duncan, and The Visiting Room Project, which formed the basis of an Emmy-nominated New York Times short documentary film. A native of Australia, she began her career assisting legal organizations defending individuals on Louisiana's death row.
Calvin Duncan: Calvin Duncan is a legal expert, author and educator focused on expanding access to the courts for incarcerated people. Beginning May, 2026, he is the incoming clerk of Orleans Parish Criminal Court in New Orleans. His bestselling memoir, The Jailhouse Lawyer, chronicles his twenty-eight and a half year journey through Louisiana prisons serving a life sentence without parole for a murder he did not commit. While incarcerated, Duncan became a jailhouse lawyer, helping hundreds of fellow prisoners challenge wrongful convictions and unjust sentences. His work contributed to landmark U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Smith v. Cain (2012) and Ramos v. Louisiana (2020). He holds a JD from Lewis & Clark Law School and lives in New Orleans, where he teaches criminal law in the Tulane School of Professional Advancement.
Calvin and Sophie have also published a book to share his story. The information about the book is below.
The Jailhouse Lawyer by Calvin Duncan and Sophie Cull is, in the words of John Grisham, an “incredible” story—“so heartwarming and hopeful that it will stay with you for a long time.”
Calvin Duncan was nineteen when he was incarcerated for a 1981 New Orleans murder he didn’t commit. Abandoned with no resources, an incompetent defense system, and little education, Duncan was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in jail. Duncan took matters into his own hands when he filed his first motion from prison: “Motion for a Law Book.” This would be the first step in launching his self-taught, successful legal career. It would be decades before Duncan would get out of prison; yet, instead of succumbing to despair, he helped hundreds of his peers navigate their cases and taught a class in Angola, championing those around him to fight for their own justice under the law. The Jailhouse Lawyer, written with criminal justice reform advocate Sophie Cull, is an intimate look inside the triumph and tragedy of Calvin Duncan and the road he created to freedom.