CONWAY -- In a year when judicial candidates' law licenses and campaign contributions have been scrutinized, one of the most contentious races in the 20th Judicial Circuit involves an incumbent whose biggest donation by far came from her parents.
Amy Brazil, who was appointed a judge in the circuit's 5th Division in January 2013, is running against Conway City Attorney Mike Murphy for the 1st Division position.
The circuit includes Faulkner, Van Buren and Searcy counties.
In an email Friday, Murphy questioned the legality of two loans that Brazil's campaign received. According to Brazil's campaign-finance records, one of those loans was for $5,000 from her father, Bill Brazil, on Sept. 17. The other was for $23,092.88 from her father and her mother, Suzanne Brazil, on March 20.
"As a candidate, it has been extremely frustrating to try to play by the rules and reporting laws [on campaign finances] when Judge Brazil seems to either be very lax in her approach to compliance or is intentionally disregarding them," Murphy wrote.
Graham Sloan, director of the Arkansas Ethics Commission, said Friday that a loan is defined as a contribution under state law. That means a loan should not exceed $2,000 in most cases. Sloan said the only exceptions are loans that the candidate gives his own campaign or loans in which the candidate borrows from a financial institution, both of which are not capped; and loans that may total up to $2,500 from a political party.
"If you're talking about borrowing money from someone besides a financial institution ... you could borrow $2,000 from your neighbor," Sloan said. "There's no distinction for family members" to lend a candidate more than $2,000.
Brazil of Conway did not respond to phone, email and text requests for comment on the financial information.
But her father, a former prosecutor who is her campaign chairman and treasurer, said his understanding was that "there's no limit on you or your family."
Brazil has campaigned on her experience as a judge. In 2010, she was appointed to serve as a district judge in Faulkner County through December 2012. She previously worked with her father's law firm and as an attorney for American Management Corp.
Murphy of Conway has been city attorney since being elected in 1990. He also had been a deputy prosecutor and had a private law practice.
"This election is about restoring trust and integrity to our local judiciary; if elected judge, I pledge to continue what has been an unblemished professional record as a public servant for over 23 years," Murphy said.
Brazil also did not respond to a request for a brief statement on why voters should support her.
In other judicial races, H.G. Foster, who was appointed to the 1st Division judge's seat in January 2013, and lawyer Doralee Chandler are seeking the circuit's 5th Division seat; incumbent David Clark and former deputy prosecutor Angela Byrd are vying for the 4th Division; and Troy Braswell, the circuit's chief deputy prosecutor, and attorney Joe Don Winningham are competing for the 2nd Division.
Judge Charles E. Clawson Jr., who presides in the 3rd Division, is unopposed in his re-election bid.
Foster of Conway was a longtime prosecuting attorney for the circuit and a special state prosecutor.
"I think that I'm the right choice for this job because of my experience in all kinds of cases that can come before a circuit judge as well as my experience as a circuit judge -- all of which extends over 35 years," he said.
Chandler of Conway has been a defense attorney for 16 years and has practiced in courts on the state and federal levels.
"I believe that voters should support me as the true conservative candidate based upon my belief in accountability for litigants, juveniles, attorneys and judges along with my understanding that judges do not create new laws or new rights but apply the laws as created by the constitution and legislators," she said. "Mr. Foster has been a dedicated public servant, but I do not feel that he has exhibited conservative values by increasing the 1st Division budget by [30 percent] after being appointed to the position for less than one year."
Asked to respond, Foster said, "My 34 years as a prosecutor has taught me that nobody is perfect; however, it is not my inclination to criticize my opponent in this race."
At 34, Braswell of Conway is the youngest of the candidates.
He gained attention in January 2013 when, under the direction of of Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland, Braswell handled much of the almost 11-year-old murder case against Richard Conte in the death of Conway businessman Carter Elliott and a friend, Timothy Wayne Robertson of Star City.
The jury quickly convicted Conte, a former physician, of capital murder.
Now, Elliott's son, Trey, is Braswell's campaign chairman.
"Over the last 2 1/2 years, our families have developed a close friendship," Braswell said. "I am honored that my friend agreed to serve as my campaign chairman."
Braswell previously was a law clerk and assistant to retired Justice Jim Gunter of the Arkansas Supreme Court and a law clerk for Pulaski County judges. He also has been a private attorney.
"I will seek justice by treating all citizens equally under the law and do my best to fairly decide each case before me based on what the law is, not based on what I think the law should be," he said.
Winningham of Conway has a private practice in which he represents clients in the areas of civil, criminal, juvenile and family law. He is a former deputy prosecuting attorney and was a city prosecutor for Clinton and Marshall. He also has worked as a deputy public defender.
"As a private-practicing attorney, who has also served as both a deputy prosecuting attorney and a public defender in cases throughout the judicial district, I have both the experience and personal qualities necessary to serve as a fair and impartial judge," Winningham said.
In 2012, during internal fighting among county officials and the resignation of the county attorney, the soft-spoken Winningham agreed to represent the county briefly at no charge. Despite the bickering, he said he never was attacked by members of either political party.
Neither Winningham nor Braswell criticized each other Friday.
"I just ask that the voters look at the qualifications of each candidate and make up their own minds," Winningham said.
The race between Clark of Conway and Byrd of Vilonia has had its share of contention, starting with a television advertisement titled "The Real David Clark."
The Byrd campaign video faults Clark for, among other things, what it calls a "road rage" incident in 2010 and a statement it says he made to authorities that he drove a government-issued vehicle to a nightclub.
Clark countered that he was the victim in the altercation and said the other person was convicted and ordered to pay his medical bill.
"The video is misleading," he said. "She does not have the experience ... or the integrity I have for this position."
Byrd said the video's contents "are documented facts" and "public information."
"There is nothing false or misleading with any of the information," Byrd said.
Byrd has worked as a deputy prosecutor and in private practice with 22 years of courtroom experience, she said.
"I firmly believe that a judge needs to have integrity and judicial temperament," she said. "I have both."
Clark was a deputy prosecutor in Pulaski County, where he worked in the drug and gang units. In 1996, he returned to Conway, where he became a deputy prosecutor until he was appointed to the bench in 2007.
"I am the only person that has judicial experience running for the seat, and the only person that has invested their time back into this community to tackle the issues that [the state Department of Human Services] has with the shortage of foster parents and with the shortage" of volunteers for Court Appointed Special Advocates, volunteers who advocate for abused and neglected children, Clark said.
Clark handles divorce cases and cases involving the state agency.
State Desk on 05/18/2014