The Arkansas Judicial System Reform after Amendment 80

Judicial Structure Appellate courts: – Arkansas Supreme Court 1 Chief Justice; 6 Associate Justices; 8 year terms; State – Arkansas Court of Appeals 1 Chief Judge; 11 Judges; 8 year terms; Circuits Courts of General Jurisdiction, where most civil and criminal matters are tried and decided are: – Circuit Court 115 Circuit Judges; 28 circuit districts; 6 year terms Courts of Limited Jurisdiction, where many minor cases (civil and criminal) are tried and decided: – District Courts … at least one in each county 124 Courts; 115 judges; 4 year terms – City Courts 114 courts; 87 judges; 4 year terms

Amendment 80 Changed the Arkansas Judicial System Amendment 80 gave Circuit Courts jurisdiction over five types of cases: criminal; civil; probate; juvenile; & domestic relations Amendment 80 “eliminated a variety of courts of limited jurisdiction presided over by ‘judges’ who were not trained in the law (police courts, courts of common pleas, and justice of the peace courts).” (Blair & Barth, Arkansas Politics and Government, 2nd, 2005, 225.) All judges have to be lawyers now The County Court (presided over by the County Judge) still exists, but it has only very limited jurisdiction over matters pertaining to county taxes and expenditures Considerable decentralization and autonomy still exist in Arkansas courts

Reform Goals To consolidate and simplify the court structure – Overlapping jurisdictions were eliminated – Court prestige was enhanced – Courts were easier to understand – Democratic Party opposed reform – Many local communities opposed reform To centralize management and budgeting – Created an Administrative Office of the Courts – AOC compiles data of courts and caseloads – But judges continue to negotiate salaries at the legislative level – State pays for appellate courts, but share costs with counties and cities on Circuit and District Courts To increase judicial education and qualifications – All judges are now lawyers – On-going training programs are now mandatory – Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission (1988)—9 members

Judicial Selection Arkansas judges were originally appointed, first by the legislature, then by the governor The 1874 Constitution confirmed that judges should be elected Arkansas has the highest percentage of judges that are elected in the nation In many states, judges are first appointed to vacancies, then run for office; Amendment 29 in Arkansas prohibits appointees from running for the office to which they were appointed Amendment 80 made elections for judges nonpartisan (2002) Most elections have little competition, but there are exceptions Judges that have been elected to the office can use the title “Judge” before their names on the ballot While judicial ethical codes prohibit “making pledges or promises of conduct in office” in campaigns, etc., that is largely unenforceable Getting lawyers to endorse candidacy is a tried and true practice of persons running for judicial office Women and African Americans have had difficulty winning office until recently, juvenile courts & sub districts within Circuit Court districts have helped Af-Amer.

The Future of Arkansas Courts Arkansas courts are among the most “democratic” in the nation Court system works pretty well … little evidence of the backlog of cases that many states face The judiciary has frequently reordered the agendas of the other two branches of state government – Declaring the state public school system unconstitutionally “inadequate” and “inequitable” – Declaring a “use tax” in Pulaski County unconstitutional – Awarding a Polk County family a judgment of $78.4 million for nursing home abuse Concerns include: – Elective system discourages many qualified candidates – Judges are very sensitive to local politics – Autonomy of judges may lead to misconduct – Judicial political races continue to cost more