Supreme Court rejects Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment

KUAR | By Daniel Breen

Members of the Arkansas Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, have ordered that votes for and against a proposal to expand medical marijuana should not count.

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Justices on Monday sided with Protect Arkansas Kids, a group which intervened in the legal challenge against Issue 3, while rejecting the original complaint from Secretary of State John Thurston. While Issue 3 will appear on the ballot this election cycle, votes for and against it will not count.

Issue 3 would have made several changes to the state’s medical marijuana program, which was first approved by voters in 2016. Among other things, the proposal would have loosened licensing requirements, expanded qualifying conditions and healthcare providers able to prescribe the drug, and allowed for medical marijuana patients to grow their own cannabis.

Supreme Court rejects Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment

Arkansas Supreme Court partially denies challenge to anti-casino ballot measure

KUAR | By Mary Hennigan / Arkansas Advocate

A proposed anti-casino ballot initiative is still alive following a decision from the Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday, though its fate remains uncertain with another decision pending.

The court did not decide whether the popular name and ballot title of the proposed constitutional amendment are insufficient.

Another ruling will determine if votes will be counted on Issue 2, which would repeal a Pope County casino license and require any new casino in the state to be approved in a countywide special election before a license is issued. The measure is already on the ballot.

Arkansas Supreme Court partially denies challenge to anti-casino ballot measure

Legends Resort & Casino

A rendering of Legends Resort & Casino in Pope County.

Supreme Court orders signature count on medical marijuana measure

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

The day after an advocacy group filed a lawsuit over the rejection of its signatures, the Arkansas Supreme Court on Wednesday (Oct. 2) ordered the disputed signatures of a proposed medical marijuana amendment, Issue 3, to be counted and it approved an expedited hearing to decide if the measure would be on the Nov. 5 ballot.

On Monday (Sept. 30), Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston said Arkansans for Patient Access (APA), the ballot question committee seeking approval of Issue 3, did not meet the signature threshold of 90,704. Thurston cited incorrect filings of signatures as his reason for the rejection.

The state’s high court ordered the following actions take place in response to the filing by Arkansans for Patient Access:

• A preliminary injunction is granted;

• Secretary of State John Thurston must verify the disputed signatures;

• The group’s requested hearing on Thurston’s decision will be expedited; and

• A special master will not be appointed to the case, in opposition to APA’s request.

Supreme Court orders signature count on medical marijuana measure

Arkansas Supreme Court refers one of its own for disciplinary investigation

KUAR | By Antoinette Grajeda / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

Members of the Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a case filed by Justice Courtney Hudson seeking to block the release of her emails from a public records request and have referred her for disciplinary investigation.

In an unsigned per curiam opinion issued Tuesday, the state’s high court vacated a preliminary injunction granted by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Patricia James on Monday and dismissed the underlying complaint with prejudice for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. “With prejudice” means the case cannot be refiled.

Hudson and Justice Karen Baker dissented. The opinion said written opinions would follow, but none had been filed as of Tuesday afternoon.

Arkansas Supreme Court refers one of its own for disciplinary investigation

John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate

The Arkansas Supreme Court building in Little Rock.

Attorney General Griffin secures Arkansas Supreme Court dismissal of driver's license gender identification lawsuit

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement after the Arkansas Supreme Court entered an order in Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration v. Gallagher dismissing the lawsuit challenging the department’s emergency rule on driver’s license gender identification:

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“I am pleased that the Arkansas Supreme Court granted my motion to dismiss this lawsuit against the Department of Finance and Administration, which has brought its driver’s license gender identification rule into compliance with the law. The Department’s rule must comply with state law, therefore, today’s order is a win for the rule of law.

“I congratulate Solicitor General Nicholas Bronni and Deputy Solicitor General Dylan Jacobs on their successful efforts in this matter.”

For a printer-friendly version of this release, click here.

Special master recommends disqualifying thousands of anti-casino measure signatures

KUAR | By Mary Hennigan / Arkansas Advocate

From the Arkansas Advocate:

A special master to the Arkansas Supreme Court found nearly 6,000 signatures supporting an anti-casino ballot initiative should be disqualified because of insufficient addresses, according to a report submitted Monday.

Other challenges to the proposed ballot measure — such as potential issues with an agent signing affidavits in place of a sponsor — that were made in an original action petition filed last month were rejected.

Special Master Randy Wright’s report will inform the state’s highest court as it determines whether votes cast on the proposed constitutional amendment in November will be counted. Additional briefs are expected in the coming weeks, and petitioners said a ruling is likely in mid-October.

Special master recommends disqualifying thousands of anti-casino measure signatures

Legends Resort & Casino

A rendering of Legends Resort & Casino in Pope County.

Attorney General Griffin praises Arkansas Supreme Court's rejection of motion brought by convicted felon of Little Rock

Griffin offered the following statement:

“Convicted felon Oscar Stilley’s emergency motion sought to resurrect the abortion amendment ballot petition by compelling the Secretary of State to provisionally certify it for the November general election. I applaud the Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision to deny Stilley’s motion as moot after the court had correctly denied the attempt by the sponsor of the abortion amendment to get on the ballot.

“Stilley has no legal standing to bring this lawsuit in the first place. In fact, his filings have made it clear that he cares more about re-litigating his federal felony conviction. This attempt to retry his conviction has done nothing but waste the court’s time and taxpayers’ money.”

To read a copy of the court’s rejection of the motion, click here.

To download a PDF version of this release, click here.

Arkansas Supreme Court allows more parties to join abortion signature lawsuit

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A lawsuit seeking to put a proposal to legalize abortion in Arkansas on the November ballot has been expanded to add more plaintiffs. On Tuesday, two other ballot question groups had their request to intervene as parties in the suit granted.

Arkansans For Limited Government has been working since February to put an amendment on the 2024 ballot legalizing abortion up to the 18th week of pregnancy. The group collected over 100,000 signatures, more than the over 90,000 needed to get their proposal on the ballot.

Secretary of State John Thurston said about 14,000 signatures collected by paid canvassers had to be thrown out. He said the group did not turn in the proper paid canvasser paperwork. It's unclear if this is true, as FOIA requests show documents similar to the ones he claims were missing were turned in. Thurston then said, affidavits submitted by the group were signed by the representatives of AFLG, which are the wrong people.

Arkansas Supreme Court allows more parties to join abortion signature lawsuit

Courts.Arkansas.Gov/Courts.Arkansas.Gov

The Arkansas Supreme Court is allowing two other parties to join the abortion signature lawsuit.

Arkansas Supreme Court orders Secretary of State to count abortion ballot signatures

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 23) granted an expedited hearing and ordered Secretary of State John Thurston to perform an initial count of signatures collected by a group seeking to qualify an abortion amendment for the November ballot.

The court order said: “Arkansas Secretary of State is ordered to perform the initial count of signatures collected by volunteer canvassers” according to Arkansas code by Monday, July 29 at 9am.

“The court reserves the right to issue further orders and proceed in accordance with state law,” it reads.

Three Supreme Court justices signed the order, including Chief Justice John Dan Kemp, Justice Karen Baker and Justice Courtney Hudson.

Arkansas Supreme Court orders Secretary of State to count abortion ballot signatures

Attorney general requests dismissal of Arkansas Abortion Amendment lawsuit

KUAR | By Mary Hennigan / Arkansas Advocate

Attorney General Tim Griffin on Friday filed a motion asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit challenging Secretary of State John Thurston’s recent rejection of the proposed Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024.

Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG), the ballot question committee supporting the proposed constitutional amendment, filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking the state Supreme Court to order Thurston to count the more than 101,000 signatures the group submitted in support of the measure on July 5.

The group also asked the court to expedite the case with a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction overruling Thurston’s decision not to count the signatures.

Attorney general requests dismissal of Arkansas Abortion Amendment lawsuit

Courtesy Photo/Facebook

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin

Arkansas Supreme Court reinstates gender-neutral ID ban

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday released a formal order in an ongoing legal battle over gender-neutral IDs.

For the past 14 years, Arkansans were allowed to put an “X” on their driver's license for their gender. This came after years of only allowing “M'' or “F.” License holders were also allowed to change their names.

In March, the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration got legislative approval to ban the practice. This was an emergency rule change that can only be used in cases of “imminent peril.”

Arkansas Supreme Court reinstates gender-neutral ID ban

The Arkansas Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling which blocked the state's ban on gender-neutral IDs.

Arkansas Supreme Court upholds election rule changes made in 2021

by Talk Business & Politics staff (staff2@talkbusiness.net)

The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday (May 16) upheld four state laws that placed new limits and rules on election procedures. The court’s majority opinion reversed a ruling from Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffin who had overturned the provisions.

The laws, approved by the Arkansas Legislature in 2021, were Acts 249, 728, 736 and 973 of 2021. While complex, the Acts establish the following new procedures.
• County clerks must verify a signature on an absentee ballot with the voter’s registration signature.

• Reduce the time for delivery of in-person absentee ballots.

• Voters submitting a provisional ballot must show a photo ID by the Monday after the vote or the ballot will be rejected.

• People will not be allowed to loiter or stand within 100 feet of a polling site.

The rules were implemented following allegations of widespread irregularities in the 2020 general election. More than 60 legal challenges and numerous investigations found no validity to the claims of election fraud.

Arkansas Supreme Court upholds election rule changes made in 2021

Arkansas Supreme Court to allow touch DNA testing to move forward in West Memphis Three case

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday (April 18) that advanced touch DNA testing can be done on evidence in the “West Memphis Three” case. The decision was a reversal of Crittenden County Circuit Court Judge Tonya Alexander who in 2022 denied a motion for the DNA testing of the ligatures that bound the victims in the case.

Alexander ruled that since Damien Echols was not in prison anymore he could not seek relief in the form of DNA testing. Majority opinion writer Judge Karen Baker said the statute does not require a person to be incarcerated to seek relief under its provisions.

“Here, the plain language in sections 16-112-201 and -202 unambiguously permits ‘a person convicted of a crime’ to petition for additional DNA testing to demonstrate the person’s actual innocence pursuant to Act 1780. This language imposes no requirement that a petitioner must be in state custody to seek relief pursuant to Act 1780, and we decline to CR-22-670 13 read such a requirement into the statutes,” Baker wrote.

Arkansas Supreme Court to allow touch DNA testing to move forward in West Memphis Three case

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., were convicted of the murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis in 1993.

Arkansas attorney general rejects first draft of direct democracy initiative

KUAR | By Hunter Field / Arkansas Advocate

Arkansas’ attorney general has rejected the first version of a proposed constitutional amendment intended to improve the state’s ballot initiative process, but sponsors plan to resubmit.

The text of the measure — which would change parts of the initiative process that have frustrated ballot groups, including ballot title review and signature verification, as well as bar the state Legislature from making changes to initiated amendments or ballot initiative requirements — has a “key ambiguity,” according to Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin.

Griffin in a letter dated Feb. 20 declined to certify the measure’s ballot language, saying the proposed amendment was unclear about how and if future initiatives could be challenged at the Arkansas Supreme Court.
Arkansas attorney general rejects first draft of direct democracy initiative

Eva Bee/Getty Images/Ikon Images

Transparency group sues Arkansas attorney general

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A citizen group filed suit Tuesday against Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin in the state Supreme Court.

Arkansas Citizens for Transparency (ACT) has spent months trying to enshrine the Freedom of Information Act in the state constitution. They hope to get a constitutional amendment put on the ballot in 2024 called the “The Arkansas Government Transparency Act.”

Getting an amendment on the ballot is a lengthy process which is rarely successful. First, Griffin must approve the amendment's title and description. Then, ACT can begin collecting the over 90,000 needed signatures from across the state to put the amendment on the ballot.

Transparency group sues Arkansas attorney general

Michael Hibblen/Little Rock Public Radio

A lawsuit against Attorney General Tim Griffin alleges that he is violating the constitution by making it too difficult to get ballot titles approved.

Echols hearing before the Arkansas Supreme Court likely in early 2024

by George Jared (gjared@talkbusiness.net)

Damien Echols plight to force the state of Arkansas to test ligatures used to bound three boys murdered in West Memphis on May 5, 1993, likely won’t be decided by the Arkansas Supreme Court until next year.

The Court is still waiting on an amicus brief from the Innocence Project that is expected to be filed before the end of the month. Once that brief has been filed the appeal will be “get in line” behind previously filed cases to be officially submitted to the high court, Arkansas Supreme Court Clerk Kyle Burton told Talk Business & Politics. It’s difficult to predict when it will be heard, Burton said.

Since it’s a criminal case, it could take precedent over some of the civil cases that have already been filed. Once submitted, justices will render a decision in two to four weeks. That means the timeframe for a decision could span from January to April of next year.

Echols hearing before the Arkansas Supreme Court likely in early 2024

Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley Jr., were convicted of the murders of three 8-year-old boys in West Memphis in 1993.

Justice Barbara Webb believes her experience qualifies her for Chief Justice role

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Barbara Webb said her career background has provided her with immense diversity in being the best choice to serve as the state’s next Chief Justice.

Webb, who appeared on this week’s Capitol View program, is seeking the seat held by Chief Justice John Dan Kemp, who is retiring. Justices Karen Baker and Rhonda Wood are also seeking the Chief Justice position.

“I feel like my career path has led me to this opportunity. From being a courtroom attorney in private practice to then being a prosecuting attorney in the courtroom, and then to coming on the court as a Supreme Court Justice, I just feel like the next step or the right step for me where I can give back is to be Chief Justice,” Webb said.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/08/justice-barbara-webb-believes-her-experience-qualifies-her-for-chief-justice-role/

Justice Barbara Webb.

Gov. Sanders names RPA chair Cody Hiland to Arkansas Supreme Court to replace Justice Robin Wynne

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Gov. Sarah Sanders appointed Republican Party of Arkansas chairman Cody Hiland to the Arkansas Supreme Court on Monday (July 3) to fill a vacancy left by the death of Justice Robin Wynne. Hiland, a former state and federal prosecutor, will serve until January 2025 after voters choose a new justice in the 2024 election cycle. Hiland will not be eligible to run for the open seat.

Sanders said the appointment would provide the Arkansas Supreme Court with a “conservative majority” for the first time. Judges and justices run for office in Arkansas under an independent label.

Wynne was re-elected to an eight-year term on the state’s highest court in November 2022, but died in June. The law declares the governor fills the term until the next regular election.

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/07/gov-sanders-names-rpa-chair-cody-hiland-to-arkansas-supreme-court-to-replace-justice-robin-wynne/

Justice Rhonda Wood offers vision for Chief Justice, wants magistrate system to speed up trials

by Roby Brock (roby@talkbusiness.net)

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood remembered her colleague Justice Robin Wynne and outlined her vision if she is elected Chief Justice in 2024 – a vision that includes creating magistrates to make the trial process faster and more efficient in the state’s court system.

Justice Wynne died last week after being re-elected to an eight-year term in November 2022. Wood said she and Wynne had a close relationship in part due to having the same initials.

“He was a lovely, lovely man. I worked with him for ten-and-a-half years because we served on the Court of Appeals together, we came on the Supreme Court together,” she said. “We would say, ‘Hi, R.W.’ to each other because it was ‘Robin Wynne, Rhonda Wood’. People got our names confused, nobody could figure out who we were.”

https://talkbusiness.net/2023/06/justice-rhonda-wood-offers-vision-for-chief-justice-wants-magistrate-system-to-speed-up-trials/

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood.

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Robin Wynne dies

KUAR | By Josie Lenora

A member of the Arkansas Supreme Court died Wednesday. According to Arkansas Business, Associate Justice Robin Wynne of Little Rock died at age 70. His cause of death is unknown.

A graduate of Harvard and the University of Arkansas School of Law, Wynne was reelected to a second eight-year term in November. He was reelected in a nonpartisan runoff election with 58% of the vote.

“Our democracy depends on a fair, impartial and independent judiciary,” he told the Arkansas Advocate in November.

https://www.ualrpublicradio.org/local-regional-news/2023-06-22/arkansas-supreme-court-justice-robin-wynne-dies

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