Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen on Friday withdrew contempt findings against the state parole board, ruling it had complied with his orders to reconfigure the parole eligibility of a 57-year-old Little Rock man who had successfully overturned a life sentence he received at age 17.
Six out-of-state anti-abortion protesters will stand trial before a Pulaski County jury on Nov. 2 on misdemeanor trespassing charges at Little Rock s abortion clinic, a circuit judge ordered Thursday.
UPDATE: The dicamba battle rolls on with Supreme Court decisions, legislative hearing today
The
Arkansas Supreme Court today delivered two opinions that said the old law governing appointments to the state Plant Board was unconstitutional because it allowed trade groups to pick nine of 18 seats.
The recent legislative session corrected that by passing Act 361 to give appointment power to all seats to the governor, with advice from trade groups in some cases and subject to Senate confirmation. The won’t take effect until 90 days after the close of the session.
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One suit was by a group of individuals challenging a rule on the use of dicamba to control pigweed. But the decision turned on the constitutionality of the board’s membership and the Supreme Court held it unconstitutional, with Justice Karen Baker dissenting. This decision reversed a lower court decision by Circuit Judge Tim Fox. Said the opinion by Justice Barbara Webb:
UPDATE: Facing contempt citation, lawyer exits suit against police chief
Circuit Judge Chris Piazza has found lawyer
Chris Burks in contempt of court for violating a protective order in the case in which he represented police officers suing
Police Chief Keith Humphrey.
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Khayyam Eddings, attorney for Humphrey, said the judge had granted his motion that Burks be held in contempt for releasing protected information, specifically text messages in which Humphrey commented on various members of the Police Department. Burks contended Humphrey had released the texts to a Washington Post reporter, which Humphrey and the reporter, Radley Balko, denied. The texts had made their way into an article in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and the controversy came up at last night’s contentious City Board meeting. There, Mayor Frank Scott Jr.’s administration, with help from City Attorney Tom Carpenter, at least delayed an effort by