HOT SPRINGS -- Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice John Dan Kemp signed an order Tuesday assigning Judge Brad Karren of the 19th West Judicial Circuit in Bentonville to the felony tax case of state Rep. Mickey Gates.
Circuit Judge Marcia R. Hearnsberger filed a letter of recusal in the case July 9, followed by similar actions by Judges John Homer Wright, Lynn Williams and Wade Naramore.
Gates, R-Hot Springs, is scheduled for a plea and arraignment in the case at 1 p.m. Oct. 2 in Garland County Circuit Court. Attorney Jeff Rosenzweig has said Gates will plead innocent.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson called on Gates to resign Tuesday, becoming the third prominent Republican to ask for Gates' resignation since the tax charges were made public. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin, both Republicans, also have asked Gates to step down.
"It is important for me as governor and as head of the party to indicate publicly that he should resign," the Republican governor said in an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. "I have listened to Rep. Gates. He wants to defend himself. He's entitled to do that, but he should do it outside of the public arena, and I'm saying that in the interest of public confidence in our institutions of government."
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jared Henderson said Wednesday that "I have spent the past few months advocating for stronger ethics laws and integrity in our state government, including calling for the resignation of Rep. Gates from the beginning.
"As Hutchinson waited to call for his resignation, another payday for Gates passed where Arkansas taxpayers footed the bill on supporting yet another corrupt state legislator. People are tired of the double standard coming out of Little Rock," said Henderson, who issued his first news release calling for Gates' resignation July 2.
State Democratic Party Chairman Michael John Gray, a state representative from Augusta, and House Democratic leader Charles Blake of Little Rock also have called on Gates to resign.
Hutchinson spokesman Jamie Barker said Wednesday that Hutchinson asked Gates to resign a week and a half ago "after giving sufficient time for Rep. Gates to do the right thing on his own, the governor felt the need to make the statement publicly that Mickey should resign." On June 28, Hutchinson said Gates should assure the public that he is handling his taxes situation or "step aside."
According to a criminal information filed with the circuit court by special prosecutor Jack McQuary on July 2, Gates is charged with six counts of failure to pay or file a tax return, a Class D felony punishable by a sentence of up to six years in the Arkansas Department of Correction, along with a fine of up to $10,000.
Each count represents one year in which Gates is accused of failing to file returns: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Daniel J. Shults, legal counsel for the state board of election commissioners, told The Sentinel-Record earlier this month that the election code's vacancy in nomination provision is the controlling statute for placing a candidate on the general election ballot outside of the regular party nomination process.
Gates defeated Don Pierce 2,327-1,356 in the May 22 Republican primary.
The statute provides that a vacancy in nomination occurs when the person who received the most votes in the preferential primary notifies the state party committee of an intent to refuse the nomination because of "serious illness, moving out of the area from which elected as the party's nominee or filing for another office."
Vacancies can be filled by a special primary election or convention, according to the statute. Aug. 8 is the deadline for certificates of nomination issued by state party committees to be filed with the secretary of state's office, according to the state election calendar.
Information for this article was contributed by Michael R. Wickline of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
State Desk on 07/19/2018