The state's largest lawyer group wants to hear what Arkansans' think about whether the state should appoint or elect its Supreme Court justices to their jobs.
The Arkansas Bar Association will hold three public forums on the topic, starting Thursday in Jonesboro. The others will follow in Fayetteville on Monday and Little Rock on Dec. 15, according to executive director Karen Hutchins.
The bar association is scheduled to meet on Dec. 16 in Little Rock to debate whether to push for a constitutional amendment that would stop the popular election of Arkansas Supreme Court justices and move to a system that appoints them to 14-year terms instead.
The forums are scheduled for:
• Jonesboro -- 4 p.m.-6 p.m. Thursday at the Craighead County Public Library Round Room, 315 W Oak Ave.
• Fayetteville -- 6 p.m.-7 p.m. Monday at the University of Arkansas Willard J. Walker Hall, Room 203, 191 N. Harmon Ave. .
• Little Rock -- 6 p.m. Dec. 15 at the Clinton School of Public Service, 1200 President Clinton Ave.
Under the bar proposal, the governor would appoint justices to nonrenewable terms starting in 2019. He would choose from three candidates proposed by a Judicial Nominating Commission.
The bar association's House of Delegates would have to approve the proposal by a three-fourths vote before sending the proposal to the Legislature for consideration.
Now, Arkansas' seven Supreme Court justices are elected statewide to eight-year terms and can run for re-election.
Bar association members have said they hope an appointment process would separate high court justices from campaigns, fundraising and the influence of negative and dark-money advertising on their races.
Negative ads by unknown donors targeted lawyer Tim Cullen in 2014, lawyer Clark Mason this year, and Justice Courtney Goodson in her campaign for chief justice this year.
All three lost their contests, although Goodson remains on the high court. The winners were Justice Robin Wynne in 2014 and Justice-elect Shawn Womack and Chief Justice-elect Dan Kemp this year.
The bar association's proposed amendment can be found online at: http://tinyurl.com/Judcial-Selection.
For questions, contact the Arkansas Bar Association at (501) 515-1867.
Metro on 12/07/2016