A New Orleans man who sued Orleans Parish Coroner Dwight McKenna two years ago is terminally ill, but McKenna should not be the one to handle his remains when he dies, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said Monday.

Citing state law that bars the coroner from handling cases in which they have a conflict of interest, Murrill said that a nearby parish's coroner should instead handle the remains of Sidney Smith, who won a lawsuit after McKenna's office misidentified his son's body in 2023.

Smith has terminal cancer and said in June that he expects to die within the year.

In her July 11 ruling, Civil District Court judge Marissa Hutabarat found McKenna's office liable for "outrageous and reckless" misconduct after it failed to identify Smith's son, 42-year-old Justin Smith, who died

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