Arkansas challenges ruling striking down voter ID law

Earlier this year, aPulaski County judge struck down a voting law inArkansas. The state then challenged his ruling. Lawyers forSecretary of StateMark Martin argued that, in ruling the law unconstitutional, the judge did not follow court-mandated guidelines.^[6]

As noted in a previous issue of theElection Brief,Sixth Circuit JudgeTim Fox ruled the state's new voter ID law unconstitutional. He also ruled that the law,Act 595, was approved illegally. He wrote that such a law could not create a new qualification to vote, and that requiring voters to show a photo ID is a new qualification. He further said that thelegislature did not meet a required two-thirds vote threshold in approving the law.^[6]

Martin's lawyers, also representing the State Board of Election Commissioners, argued in asupreme court filing on July 3 that Fox was using an incorrect standard to evaluate the law. They wrote that he should have found the law a legal "procedural requirement," which helps poll workers to match voters with the names on the voter-registration rolls.^[6]

According to the brief:

DemocraticAttorney GeneralDustin McDaniel joined Martin, aRepublican, in the appeal of Fox's ruling. Democratic GovernorMike Beebe had previously vetoed the law before the Republican legislature overrode his veto.^[6]

Circuit court challenger criticizes incumbent's administration of sobriety court

A candidate for theTwentieth Circuit inArkansas crticized incumbentAmy Brazil’s handling of repeat DWI offenders. Brazil created a sobriety court in 2011 while serving on theFaulkner County District Court, in order to provide an alternate means for sentencing repeat offenders, but challengerMike Murphy (New Mexico) spoke against the court.^[9] The court kept offenders out of jail, Murphy stated, but failed to accomplish the court's stated goals- to provide violators with alcohol treatment services and close supervision.

The sobriety court was based in Conway, where Murphy is the city attorney, and his office prosecutes most DWI cases in the district court.^[9] Murphy released a statement alleging that he asked Brazil to allow the city attorney’s office to be involved with the sobriety court, but she declined.^[9]

Brazil campaigned for election to the Twentieth Circuit court in 2012. She lost the election, but GovernorMike Beebe subsequently appointed her to the Twentieth Circuit, also based inFaulkner County.^[9][10]

According to Murphy, a judge may order a defendant to perform community service instead of sentencing them to mandatory time in jail for a DWI offense. However, under state law, judges must provide a written order explaining their reasons for doing so. He noted the case files for participants in the sobriety court did not include this written documentation.^[9]

TheLog Cabin Democrat newspaper reported on several concerns associated with Brazil’s administration of the sobriety court. According to court documents cited by the newspaper, some charges were reduced from a DWI to DUI and, in several cases, offenders did not serve mandatory minimum sentences. Deputy County Court ClerkCindy Nutter, who was on the sobriety court team, said that Brazil made decisions independently that were typically decided among the full team—specifically, which offenders qualified for sobriety court. Nutter noted that some offenders participated in the sobriety court before they were convicted, which she said contradicted her training.^[9] Information regarding Brazil in aWomen’s Inc. Voter’s Guide, from 2012, also referenced Brazil's approach. The guide stated that, "Judge Brazil has modified treatment of DWI defendants by continuing to monitor their progress after their conviction."^[11] This description was consistent with Nutter’s account regarding post-conviction supervision practices.

A public defender who served on the sobriety court team,Dustin Chapman, noted the sobriety court program was taking shape under Brazil. According to Chapman, those working with the sobriety court received training and a model existed for how the court would work. Some processes were also implemented. He told theLog Cabin Democrat,

Judge finds state's voter ID law unconstitutional

On April 24, JudgeTim Fox of theSixth Circuit inPulaski County ruled that 2013’sAct 595 violated theArkansas Constitution. He also ruled that the act was approved illegally. Act 595, passed by theArkansas State Legislature, made the state one of 16 to require voters to show photo identification at polling places.^[12][13]

The lawsuit challenging Act 595 was filed by the state'sAmerican Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter and the Arkansas Law Center, with four voters as plaintiffs. Lawyers for the offices of the attorney general and secretary of state argued that the law did not impose new qualifications, but was a new procedural mechanism.^[14]

The constitutional debate over the law centered on whether the legislature may disqualify voters who do not produce photo identification at the polls. Article 3 of the state's constitution has requirements based on age, residency, citizenship and registration, but Fox found that the legislature must make new changes in the registration process, not new requirements at polling places. Poll workers were already allowed to ask for identification, but could not disqualify a voter for failing to provide it.^[12]

GovernorMike Beebe previously vetoed the bill on constitutional grounds. His veto was overruled by theRepublican-dominated legislature. However, Fox found that the legislature failed to override the governor's veto with the required two-thirds majority of both chambers.^[12][14] He also found that voters may not be required to produce something at the polls that they were not required to produce at the time they registered to vote.^[14]

Fox’s decision was appealed to thestate supreme court. In April 2014, Fox stayed his decision, saying the 75 county election commissions in the state would not have time to comply with his ruling before this week’s commencement of early voting. He also cited a possible appeal and the possible lack of time for the supreme court to decide whether to issue its own stay.^[12][14]

Without the supreme court ruling on the case, poll workers required voters to provide photo identification in order to vote. Any voter who lacked identification was only allowed to cast a provisional ballot. The voter then had to prove his or her identity at the county clerk’s office, to validate the vote, before counting was finished.^[12]

Early voting underway in Arkansas

Judicial elections in Arkansas occur on the same day as the primary elections for non-judicial races. This means all judicial races in the state in 2014, were on the ballot on May 20. However, early voting began on Monday, May 5, and lasted until May 19, giving everyone in Arkansas two weeks to cast their votes.^[15]

Though many judicial candidates ran unopposed, there were also contested races in 2014. First, there were three open seats on theArkansas Supreme Court, one of which was a contested race betweenRobin Wynne andTim Cullen, running for retiring JusticeDonald Corbin's seat. JusticeKaren Baker ran unopposed for re-election.Rhonda Wood was unopposed to win retired JusticeRobert L. Brown's seat.Cliff Hoofman who held Brown's seat since January 1, 2013, could not run for election because he was appointed to the position. For more information on supreme court elections, please see:Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2014.

Thirteen out of the 23state circuit courts had races with more than one candidate. Here were some of the contested races:

• In theFirst Circuit,Gary V. Austin andChristopher W. Morledge ran for Division 3.Jeanette Whatley ran against incumbentAnn B. Hudson, who held the Division 5 position since 2009.
• In theSecond Circuit, incumbentLee Fergus was challenged byChris Jester. The Division 10 judge,Larry Boling, did not run for re-election.Jeanette Robertson andDan Ritchey vied for that seat.
• In theFourth Circuit,Brian Lester ran against incumbentDoug Martin andLisa Parks ran against incumbentStacey Zimmerman.
• Ernest Sanders, Jr. andMike Reif ran for the Division 13 judgeship in theSixth Circuit.
• In theEleventh Circuit West, JudgeWilliam Benton was challenged byMac Norton.
• Paul Post andLeigh Zuerker ran for retired JudgeMark Hewett's Division 4 position on theTwelfth Circuit.
• The two candidates running for theFourteenth Circuit, Division 2 seat wereJodi Carney andDeanna S. Evans.
• Terry Sullivan ran for re-election to theFifteenth Circuit, Division 3 againstBetsy Danielson.
• In theSeventeenth Circuit,Carla Fuller challenged Division 1 JudgeTom Hughes.
• Four candidates ran for JudgeVicki Cook's seat on theEighteenth Circuit East. Cook retired after 21 years on the bench. The candidates were:Cecilia Dyer,John Howard,Michael H. Crawford andWade Naramore.
• The only judge for theNineteenth Circuit East,Kent Crow, was challenged byScott Jackson.
• Four of the five divisions in theTwentieth Circuit were contested races.Amy Brazil andMike Murphy ran for Division 1.Joe Don Winningham facedTroy Braswell for Division 2. IncumbentDavid Clark was challenged byAngela Byrd. Finally,Doralee Chandler andH.G. Foster ran for the Division 5 seat.
• In theTwenty-Third Circuit, the race for Division 2 was betweenAshley Parker andLarry K. Cook.

Will late payments keep some Arkansas judicial candidates from running for election?

Judge John Cole cited Amendment 80 of theArkansas Constitution in ruling thatValerie Thompson Bailey, a lawyer from Little Rock, was ineligible to run for a seat on theSixth Circuit Court inPulaski County,Arkansas. Bailey's license was suspended for nine years when she lived out of state and was not practicing law. Her law license was reactivated in November 2011. However, a lawsuit filed by a voter alleged Bailey was not qualified to serve on the court because she had not held her license to practice law for six years before becoming a judge.^[14] Cole ruled Bailey must be disqualified from the ballot. Her license was reactivated after being suspended, but it had been less than three years since the suspension ended. According to Cole, the fact that her license was suspended for administrative, not disciplinary, reasons made no difference.^[14]

Tim Fox, a judge for theSixth Circuit Court who was to have faced Bailey during the election, had also previously had his license suspended. That suspension lasted for approximately one month in 2013 when he failed to pay his state licensing fees. Other candidates whose licenses have been suspended for the same reason include:Faulkner County Circuit JudgeH.G. Foster, who ran against Little Rock lawyerDoralee Chandler and JudgeRhonda Wood of theCourt of Appeals, who ran unopposed for theArkansas Supreme Court.^[14][16]

Foster said he had since paid his dues.^[14] However, Chandler filed suit in the Sixth Circuit, saying Foster’s candidacy violated Amendment 80. In a news release, she alleged Foster failed to pay dues not only last year, but in four of the past six years.^[16]

Rhonda Wood was running unopposed for a seat on the Arkansas Supreme Court. According to an e-mail sent to Judgepedia by a clerk at theArkansas Supreme Court, state licensing fees were due and payable by March 1. In 2008, Wood reportedly did not pay her state licensing fees until March 13, 2008. Attorneys and judges in Arkansas must pay their state licensing fees annually. However, membership in the Arkansas Bar Association is voluntary and not related to the state's required licensing fee.^[17]

Majority of justices on the Arkansas Supreme Court next year will be women

Three seats are up for election on theArkansas Supreme Court in the 2014 election. The deadline for candidates to file was on March 3, 2014. Only one seat was being contested. JusticeDonald Corbin, who holds Position 2 on the court, retired at the end of his term in 2014. AnArkansas appellate lawyer,Tim Cullen, andRobin Wynne, a judge for theArkansas Court of Appeals at the time of the 2014 election, ran for Corbin's seat in the primary on May 20.

Position 7, which was held byRobert L. Brown until he retired last year, was filled by the Governor's appointee,Cliff Hoofman. Since he was appointed to the position, Hoofman cannot run for the seat.Rhonda Wood, also on theArkansas Court of Appeals, is running for the seat well before the election. She received the endorsement of the State Chamber of Commerce on July 8, 2013.^[21] No other opponents signed on to challenge Wood for the seat, which meant the court saw its first female majority after the 2014 election results.

Between 1975 and 1996, two women sat on the Arkansas high court as appointees. However, a women wasn't elected to the court until 1997.Annabelle Imber Tuck sat on the court until her retirement in 2009.^[22]