Arkansas county clerk pleads to misdemeanor, resigns

CONWAY -- Faulkner County Clerk Margaret Darter pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge Tuesday and immediately resigned from her position less than two weeks before early voting begins for the general election.

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The plea to a Class C misdemeanor of obstructing governmental operations -- punishable by up to 30 days in jail and a fine of up to $500 -- resulted from negotiations between the defense and the prosecution and came as her Oct. 18 trial date approached. The special prosecutor appointed to oversee the case had originally charged Darter with a felony, tampering with a public record.

The clerk's office oversees voting and vote tabulations in conjunction with the county's Election Commission. The Quorum Court plans to meet in emergency session T̶u̶e̶s̶d̶a̶y̶ Wednesday* night to declare the clerk's office vacant and to appoint a successor to complete Darter's term, which runs through Dec. 31, the county's attorney, David Hogue, said in an email.

Darter's name will still appear on the Nov. 8 general election ballot, and she said after the brief court hearing that she hopes to win and return to office in January. Democrat Penny McClung is challenging Darter's re-election bid.

Darter was accused of changing dates on some county officials' 2015 statements of financial interest to make it look as if the documents were filed on time even though they were late.

Moments after her plea, Darter spoke for the first time with a reporter about the events that led to her legal problems.

Seated in a room with defense attorneys Frank Shaw and Lauren Elenbaas, she spoke calmly but wiped tears away at one point.

"To be a county clerk, you have to have a passion" for serving the public, she said. "I have a passion for helping people. I was overzealous for taking responsibility for something that wasn't my responsibility. I made a mistake. I was wrong."

Shaw said it was important to note that Darter's actions did not hurt anyone.

Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Brian Clary, who handled the case, said his office would not participate in any decision on whether Darter can legally return to office in January if voters re-elect her.

In an emailed statement, Clary's boss, Saline County prosecutor Ken Casady, said, "Darter knew she wasn't supposed to backdate those documents but did it anyway. It was right that she forfeited her remaining months in office.

"That being said, Faulkner County voters are better suited to determine whether she should return to her position. This isn't for me to say," Casady added.

Prosecuting Attorney Cody Hiland, whose district includes Faulkner County, asked the Arkansas State Police to investigate the clerk's office last year. Hiland recused from prosecuting the case, and it was turned over to the Saline County office.

Asked if he thought state law would forbid Darter from returning to office if she is re-elected, Hiland said, "At this point, it would be premature to consider that question."

A key question is whether the misdemeanor offense to which Darter pleaded is an "infamous crime."

Shaw said neither a state statute nor case law cites that offense as one requiring removal from office.

Circuit Judge Charles Clawson Jr. ordered Darter to pay the maximum $500 in fines and $170 in court costs.

In addition to her resignation, Darter's plea agreement also required her to "affirm under oath that she has neither backdated nor falsely altered any other document" filed with her office, Casady's statement said.

Documents filed with the clerk's office range from marriage licenses to adoption papers.

In the agreement, Darter acknowledged again that she had told Faulkner County's justices of the peace in a Feb. 27, 2015, email that their annual statements of financial interest were due by Jan. 31.

"I then backdated [the statements of financial interest] that were submitted after" Jan. 31, 2015, she said in a "statement of facts" submitted to the court.

Clary said that his office decided to go with the far less serious plea after deciding "it was likely Judge Clawson would offer an instruction" to jurors that they could consider the Class C misdemeanor as an alternative to the felony tampering offense.

State Desk on 10/12/2016

*CORRECTION: The Faulkner County Quorum Court will meet Wednesday night. This article gave the wrong date for the emergency meeting.

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