A state judicial commission publicly c̶e̶n̶s̶u̶r̶e̶d̶ sanctioned* Circuit Judge William Pearson on Tuesday for actions that led to his arrest for drunken and reckless driving.
The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission said Pearson, 57, is taking action to avoid such behavior again.
The agency plans to file a motion today asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to reinstate Pearson to the bench, said David Sachar, the commission's executive director. Pearson has been suspended with pay since shortly after his arrest Jan. 20.
As the 5th Judicial Circuit's Division 1 judge, Pearson presided over the criminal dockets for Pope, Johnson and Franklin counties.
Under his agreement with the commission, Pearson will refrain from hearing driving-while-intoxicated cases for the remainder of the year, according to Sachar's letter of admonishment to Pearson.
"Pearson has been open and candid in all communications with the Commission," Sachar wrote. "Additionally, Pearson initiated contact with Arkansas [Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program] and is actively taking steps to avoid this type of future behavior."
That program "provides mental health and substance abuse services to Arkansas' judges, lawyers, and their family members," according to its website.
Sachar's letter said Pearson's willingness to accept that his actions violated the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct and Pearson's "commitment to be more aware of these issues in the future" led the commission "to refrain from recommending a more serious sanction, public charges or a public disciplinary hearing."
"An admonishment is a more corrective sanction than an informal adjustment but falls short of conduct requiring formal discipline," Sachar wrote. "It is an expression of disapproval of a judge's conduct, and may contain a proscription to follow a corrective course of conduct, and may direct professional treatment, counseling or assistance."
The letter cited Pearson's "willingness to continue with all obligations" of the assistance program.
Pearson did not immediately return a phone message left at his home Tuesday.
Pearson pleaded guilty April 17 to DWI and reckless-driving charges, both misdemeanors. Charges of fleeing and refusal to submit to a breath test were dismissed. He was fined $1,020 and ordered to pay $1,829.24 in restitution to the Arkansas State Police for damage caused to a police vehicle.
Pearson also is to serve five days in jail and plans to work one of those days in the Johnson County jail when the state police run a sobriety checkpoint. He plans to serve the other four days giving speeches to young people about the dangers of drinking and driving.
Pearson was driving north on Crawford Street south of Clarksville in Johnson County about 9:30 p.m. Jan. 20 when he went through a state police sobriety checkpoint without stopping.
Troopers using lights and sirens began chasing him as he drove into Clarksville and turned into a parking lot. A trooper followed him and pushed against the back of Pearson's pickup in an effort to stop it. The pickup finally stopped against the front of the trooper's car.
A trooper's report said Pearson was so drunk he slumped to the ground as troopers got him out of the pickup. At the sheriff's office later, Pearson became sick, lost bladder control and didn't cooperate with fingerprinting. The report said he was too drunk to take a test for his blood-alcohol level.
In a statement last week, Pearson apologized and said, "The shame and embarrassment is mine." Such conduct "will never ever happen again," he said.
State Desk on 04/26/2017
*CORRECTION: The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission publicly sanctioned Circuit Judge William Pearson on Tuesday for actions that led to his arrest for drunken and reckless driving. A previous version of this story mischaracterized the disciplinary decision.