Arkansas judge weighs challenge to proposed constitutional amendment

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce is shown in this file photo.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce is shown in this file photo.

A Pulaski County circuit judge said Thursday he will likely decide next week whether to block the process for placing Issue 1 — a proposed constitutional amendment on lawsuit damages and attorneys’ fees — on the November ballot.

The proposed amendment, which was pitched as “tort reform” by lawmakers who voted to place it on the ballot last year, would establish caps on attorneys fees and certain lawsuit damages, while also giving the Legislature the ultimate rule-making authority over the courts. Opponents of the issue, namely attorneys, have argued that the changes would erode the power of the judiciary as a separate branch of state government.

Circuit Court Judge Mackie Pierce agreed with attorneys from both sides of the lawsuit over Issue 1 that the case is likely to be heard by the Arkansas Supreme Court before the election.

A former Pulaski County circuit judge, Marion Humphrey, filed the suit earlier this month, alleging that Issue 1 was an unconstitutional bundle of separate changes being put before voters.

Humphrey’s attorneys asked Pierce during a hearing Thursday to order the secretary of state’s office to not certify the issue for the ballot. Attorneys for the Secretary of State Mark Martin, the defendant in the suit, argued that the issue was constitutional and that Humphrey had no standing to bring suit because of the state’s sovereign immunity.

Pierce said he would consider those arguments over the weekend. He expected to issue a decision Tuesday.

Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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