The state Supreme Court appointed a retired circuit judge Friday to preside over a voter-intimidation lawsuit in Jefferson County while defendants in the case have asked that the lawsuit be dismissed.
Chief Justice Howard Brill appointed former Judge David Laser of Jonesboro to hear action filed earlier this week by Victor Johnson of Pine Bluff and Jefferson County Clerk Patricia Johnson against Jefferson County Election Commissioner Stu Soffer and the Republican Party of Arkansas.
Laser retired from the bench in 2014.
Circuit Judge Jodi Raines Dennis requested a special judge after recusing herself to "avoid an appearance of impropriety." She said all other judges in the 11th Judicial Circuit-West, which includes Jefferson, Lincoln and part of Arkansas counties, also implied they would ask to be recused as well.
The lawsuit against Soffer will be heard at 1:30 p.m. Monday in the Jefferson County Courthouse in Pine Bluff.
Victor Johnson and Patricia Johnson, who are not related, claim Soffer threatened Victor Johnson and kept him from voting early at the county courthouse Oct. 24. Soffer was working as a poll watcher that day.
Victor Johnson said through attorney Chris Burks that Soffer stood in the doorway and told voters to "shut up and go home" after Jefferson County Sheriff Gerald Robinson told Soffer that if he and television reporters Soffer had allowed inside the voting area impeded voting, they would have to leave.
Johnson claimed the "disruption and confusion" caused by Soffer prevented him from voting. He returned to the courthouse later and cast his ballot.
Soffer denies the accusation. In an email Friday, he wrote that he did not interfere with any voter.
"Anyone who contends I did is a liar, plain and simple," Soffer wrote. "I can prove I was not at the courthouse for hours on either side of when Mr. Johnson contends he encountered me. I don't have a clue who this guy is and have video proving I had no conversation with him nor did I block any doorway."
The lawsuit also contends that Soffer has a conflict of interest serving both as an election commissioner and a poll watcher. Soffer has since resigned as a poll watcher.
Separately, Keith Rutledge, director of the state Board of Election Commissioners, asked that a complaint made to the commission by Pine Bluff resident Michael McCray against Soffer be dropped.
In a letter written Wednesday to Rutledge, McCray said he would not drop the complaint.
"If this were a one-time occurrence, I would consider withdrawing my complaint," McCray wrote to Rutledge. "Unfortunately, this is just the latest in a series of willful and intentional incidents that I feel must be formally addressed.
"A good friend of mine used this analogy, 'You can't go rob a bank and then when the police catch you -- just tear up the money.' I agree with this sentiment wholeheartedly."
McCray said Friday that he still wants to proceed with his complaint.
"They say because [Soffer] no longer works as a poll watcher, now they can tear up the form," he said. "That doesn't rid the offense. They say it's no harm, no foul. There was a foul, and there is harm done."
Attorney George Ritter, who represents the defendants in the lawsuit, said Friday that because Soffer no longer works as a poll watcher, the lawsuit and complaint are moot.
"This is not a criminal issue," Ritter said. "This is a stretch assuming something wrong had taken place. In my opinion, it's a false legal premise asking for this relief. They have a problem with an election commissioner being a poll watcher. There is no legal prohibition."
NW News on 11/06/2016