The Cross County District Court judge accused of a variety of ethics offenses such as giving defendants favorable treatment for sexual favors will be temporarily replaced, according to the state's chief justice.
On Thursday, Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Howard Brill issued an order stating that he finds it necessary to appoint a special judge or judges to run the court of Judge Joseph Boeckmann, who was charged Tuesday by a state panel with 14 violations of judicial ethics rules in allegations including abuse of power and possession of child pornography.
Thursday's order does not name the judge or judges who will be appointed to handle the dockets in Cross County District Court.
J.D. Gingerich, the head of the Administrative Office of the Courts, said Brill's order is a triggering mechanism that allows for a subsequent order to appoint someone to the post.
"We'll be in the process, I'm sure, before the week is out, to be sure that all the cases scheduled in these dockets will be covered," Gingerich said. "When folks come to court, someone will be there to preside over the case."
Boeckmann will be paid for the time spent off the bench.
David Sachar, the executive director of the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission -- the group responsible for the 14-month investigation that led to the administrative charges -- said his office did not request that Brill appoint a special judge, but it's well within Brill's authority to do so.
"I am neither surprised nor disappointed in the court's actions today," Sachar said. "It's in their responsibility and purview to exercise superintendent control over the courts. The chief [justice] chose to do so, and we still have a long way to go in our case."
Boeckmann's attorney, Jeff Rosenzweig, said Thursday that Boeckmann had already agreed with Sachar's group that he would not preside over any cases until the conclusion of administrative proceedings before the commission. Brill's order, he said, came independent of their discussions with ethics officials.
"I get the impression they read about [the allegations against Boeckmann] in the newspaper and decided on their own, but that's just the impression I have," Rosenzweig said.
Boeckmann first became the Cross County District Court judge in 2009. He is not seeking re-election next year.
The judicial commission's investigation, announced Tuesday, grew out of a state Department of Human Services investigation into elder abuse in Wynne.
Commission investigators found that Boeckmann reduced the bond amount for a woman facing charges whose brother was his long-time romantic partner. The woman also worked for an elder care facility run by Boeckmann's sisters, and Boeckmann had a financial interest in the facility, the commission said.
The commission's complaint also included accounts from unidentified witnesses that described Boeckmann approaching offenders in his court for sexual relations in exchange for help with court costs and fees.
The commission's allegations of illegal activity, including that Boeckmann possessed child pornography on his laptop computer, were handed off to a special prosecutor, Jack McQuary, who works in the state Office of the Prosecutor Coordinator.
In Thursday's order, Brill noted that the decision to appoint a different judge to handle Boeckmann's court was not seen as a "judgment about, or determination of, any charges pending" against Boeckmann.
Sachar said his group is awaiting a reply from Boeckmann to the 15-page complaint his office released Tuesday. Boeckmann has 30 days to respond, and then the allegations could go to a public hearing before the commission.
Metro on 11/20/2015