FORT SMITH — The state’s judicial disciplinary agency will investigate a complaint against Fort Smith District Judge-elect Jim O’Hern, after police found a bag of methamphetamine in a Little Rock hotel room registered in O’Hern’s name.
O’Hern wasn’t arrested in connection with the drug find, according to police and court records.
David Sachar, executive director of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, said Monday that he has filed a complaint against O’Hern.
“I can confirm the pendency of the investigation,” Sachar said late Monday afternoon. “Mr. O’Hern will get full due process rights during our investigation.”
O’Hern could not be reached for comment Monday night.
A woman who was in the room on Dec. 2 at the Extended Stay America at 10800 Kanis Road in west Little Rock was charged with felony drug possession, according to a police report.
Brandie Gibson, 45, of Watts, Okla., pleaded innocent to the charge on Friday in Little Rock District Court, according to the state’s online CourtConnect records website.
According to the police report, on the morning of Dec. 2 the motel manager learned cigarette smoke was coming from a room where Gibson was staying.
The manager took steps to evict them, under company policy, the report said. The motel has a no-smoking policy.
When the manager checked the room for property damage, she saw a plastic bag of possible drugs in a nightstand drawer. Little Rock police were called about 11:25 a.m.
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Police spoke to Gibson. O’Hern wasn’t at the motel when police responded. The judge-elect arrived soon after, according to the police report.
“O’Hern arrived and advised the room was rented in his name, and he had been in the room the night before,” the police report said.
In an interview Monday evening, Gibson said the police report is wrong.
O’Hern wasn’t staying at the hotel, she said.
“He held the room for me. Jim is a dear friend and my attorney. That is it. We are nothing more. That is it.”
She said she called O’Hern, who was in Little Rock, for legal help when police were summoned.
Gibson said she had no knowledge of any illegal drugs in the room.
Police retrieved a “clear baggie with crystallized substance inside, resembling meth” according to the incident report.
Testing later showed the bag contained 0.56 grams of methamphetamine, according to an arrest report.
Officers transported both Gibson and O’Hern to a detective office for questioning.
When police charged Gibson with drug possession, they released O’Hern without charges, pending further investigation.
The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission’s inquiries can take weeks or months. Since O’Hern has not been charged, he is eligible to be sworn to the district court bench next month. The salary is $145,000.
“He’s completely eligible to take the bench in January,” Sachar said. “These are just allegations.”
State judges and judicial candidates are required to uphold the integrity of the judiciary and to follow the law at all times, according to the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct.
Sachar wouldn’t discuss specifics of the complaint against O’Hern, who will have 21 days to respond.
O’Hern, 63, has been a Fort Smith attorney for 35 years and ran unopposed for the district judgeship.
He has been honored locally and statewide for legal work for the poor and elderly, according to his campaign announcement for the district judgeship in 2015. He has a solo practice in Fort Smith.