Sean Beherec
Stories by Sean
Ad pans Pryor’s vote on guns bill
posted: 05/25/2013 5:09 a.m. Comments 3
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, backed by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, launched a television ad Friday alluding to the death of former Arkansas Democratic Chairman Bill Gwatney and criticizing Sen. Mark Pryor for opposing criminal background checks for firearms purchased online or at gun shows.
Sheriff must go, state high court rules
posted: 05/24/2013 12:19 a.m. Discuss
Because he illegally possessed stolen frozen Tyson game hens in 1979, Searcy County Sheriff Kenny Cassell is prohibited by the Arkansas Constitution from serving as Searcy County sheriff, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Ruling favoring LR surgeon is upheld
posted: 05/23/2013 4:58 a.m. Discuss
The family of a Faulkner County man who suffered a brain injury after a purported botched surgery on his spine has failed to show how the doctor caused the injury and did not show a reasonable amount of care, the state Court of Appeals found Wednesday.
Lottery expects $21 million decline
posted: 05/21/2013 4:15 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Lottery Commission approved a fiscal 2014 budget Monday that projects a decline of more than $21 million in revenue compared with the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
$225,000 given to estate of officer killed on duty
posted: 05/18/2013 5:15 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas State Claims Commission awarded $225,000 Friday to the estate of a Conway police officer who was struck and killed by a driver while directing traffic at the scene of a crash.
2 judges reprimanded after admitting to improper conduct
posted: 05/18/2013 5:11 a.m. Discuss
Carroll County Circuit Judge Gerald Crow did not demonstrate “appropriate judicial behavior” when he performed independent investigations on cases and retaliated against attorneys, the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission said Friday.
Justices favor retrial in grandfather killing
posted: 05/17/2013 4:59 a.m. Discuss
A Pulaski County man who was convicted of killing his grandfather should receive a new trial because the jury instructions were flawed, the Arkansas Supreme Court said Thursday.
Car search legal in cocaine case, judges affirm
posted: 05/16/2013 5:02 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a decision by a lower court that found a police officer acted within the law when he detained a driver whom he suspected of criminal activity because he was nervous and had a cigar wrapper in his vehicle.
State cut off of drug used in executions
posted: 05/16/2013 12:07 a.m. Comments 3
The London-based provider of Arkansas’ death penalty drug has closed the Department of Correction’s account, citing its opposition to the use of its drugs for executions.
Life terms for some at an end
posted: 05/14/2013 4 a.m. Comments 2
As the state Supreme Court’s decision banning mandatory life imprisonment for those convicted of murdering when they were minors was set to take effect Monday, one of the attorneys who took the case to the U.S. Supreme Court called the ruling an “incredible victory” and one that will play out in Arkansas before it does in many other states.
Lawyer argues lottery is immune
posted: 05/10/2013 5:08 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Lottery Commission is entitled to sovereign immunity and is protected from a lawsuit brought by a company claiming trademark infringement in the commission’s advertising, an assistant attorney general told the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday.
Trial sought in malpractice case
posted: 05/10/2013 4:51 a.m. Discuss
A medical-negligence case filed against a Little Rock doctor who purportedly botched a procedure that led to a man’s brain injury should be allowed to proceed to trial, an attorney for the man’s family told the Arkansas Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
Beebe set to commute woman’s life sentence
posted: 05/09/2013 4:46 a.m. Discuss
Gov. Mike Beebe has announced his intention to commute the life sentence issued to a woman who pleaded guilty to eight counts of delivery of cocaine in 1990.
Set deaths for seven, governor is asked
posted: 05/04/2013 4:38 a.m. Discuss
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has asked the governor to set execution dates for seven inmates sentenced to die by lethal injection.
Courtroom TV show fails to get green light
posted: 05/03/2013 4:54 a.m. Comment 1
For the second time in three years, state ethics officials have emphatically rejected a proposed courtroom “reality TV” show.
Drug dog’s alert sets off debate in Supreme Court
posted: 05/03/2013 4:51 a.m. Discuss
An Arkansas State Police drug dog showing interest in a vehicle but not expressly indicating the presence of drugs was not enough probable cause to search it for contraband, a Little Rock attorney told the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday.
Allowing photos of beating victim at trial upheld
posted: 05/02/2013 4:50 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that a lower court did not abuse its discretion by allowing prosecutors to show jurors three photographs of a man who had been beaten to death with a baseball bat.
State lawmakers pass 15 bills aimed at guns
posted: 04/29/2013 12:26 a.m. Comments 17
As several states considered gun restrictions this year in the wake of mass shootings, such as that in Newtown, Conn., Arkansas’ 89th General Assembly passed 15 bills aimed at easing licensing, carrying and possession laws for firearms.
State legislators pass 61% of bills filed in session
posted: 04/28/2013 4:28 a.m. Discuss
The 89th General Assembly approved 1,520 of the 2,492 bills filed during the 100-day legislative session, or 61 percent.
State high court says resentence two serving life
posted: 04/26/2013 4:43 a.m. Comment 1
In the first of a possible 56 such cases, the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday ordered resentencing hearings for two men serving life terms without parole for crimes they committed as minors.
Justices: Ex-state worker is due pay
posted: 04/26/2013 4:41 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s ruling in favor of a former state employee who said he was fired because he reported the illegal use of federal funds.
Lawmakers wrap up, head home
posted: 04/24/2013 3:39 a.m. Discuss
The Republican-controlled state House and Senate on Tuesday completed action on bills increasing the state general-revenue budget by $197 million in the fiscal year that starts in July and distributing more than $300 million in surplus funds to various programs and projects.
Rep. Bell stirs up hornet’s nest
posted: 04/20/2013 4:58 a.m. Comments 32
It took 132 characters and a send button for Republican state Rep. Nate Bell to rile thousands across the nation Friday, sparking a furious online backlash that had Bell backtracking by midday.
Lawmakers send tax cuts to Beebe
posted: 04/20/2013 4:52 a.m. Discuss
With the 2013 Legislative session winding to a close, the Arkansas House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved and sent to Gov. Mike Beebe more than a dozen tax cuts Friday that will reduce state general revenue by more than $90 million during the next two years.
House falls short on giving judges, prosecutors 2% raises
posted: 04/19/2013 4:51 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas House rejected 2 percent cost-of living raises for judges and prosecutors Thursday, a day after a committee had approved them.
Cutoff for Planned Parenthood stalls in House panel
posted: 04/18/2013 5:07 a.m. Discuss
A bill barring state grants to entities that perform abortions or make abortion referrals failed to clear an Arkansas House committee Wednesday.
Private-option redo gets key bill to Beebe
posted: 04/18/2013 12:12 a.m. Discuss
The Senate voted 28-7 late Wednesday night to approve using hundreds of millions of federal dollars to purchase private health insurance for 250,000 low-income Arkansans, after a day of waiting and amendments.
Tax-cut bills quickly clear House votes
posted: 04/17/2013 12:56 a.m. Discuss
The state House of Representatives on Tuesday handily approved bills cutting the state’s top income-tax rate, taxes on capital gains and the sales tax charged on energy used by manufacturers, after an appropriation measure to allow the use of federal dollars to purchase health insurance for 250,000 low-income Arkansans cleared the chamber.
2 in run for governor report funds
posted: 04/16/2013 12:57 a.m. Discuss
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Halter and Republican hopeful Asa Hutchinson are neck-and-neck when it comes to collecting campaign contributions.
Senate balks at ballot measure
posted: 04/13/2013 5:17 a.m. Discuss
The Arkansas Senate balked Friday at referring to voters a proposed constitutional amendment to make it harder for citizens to place measures on Arkansas ballots but supported placing on the 2014 ballot an amendment to require legislative approval of state-agency rules and regulations.
School-choice bill sent to governor
posted: 04/12/2013 5:07 a.m. Comment 1
The Arkansas Senate Thursday sent a bill to rewrite the state’s schoolchoice law to Gov. Mike Beebe.
To fight execution law, go lower, justices tell 6
posted: 04/12/2013 4:48 a.m. Discuss
The six death-row inmates who successfully challenged the state’s old death-penalty statute must take their challenge of the new death-penalty statute to a lower court before a higher court hears it, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
Beebe to sign raw-milk sales bill
posted: 04/11/2013 12:16 a.m. Comment 1
A bill to allow farmers to sell unpasteurized whole milk narrowly cleared the state Senate on Wednesday, and a spokesman for Gov. Mike Beebe said Beebe intends to sign the bill into law.
Senate: Cut off Planned Parenthood
posted: 04/10/2013 12:04 a.m. Comments 10
The state Senate on Tuesday narrowly approved a bill aimed at barring state agencies from providing grants to Planned Parenthood, and another measure creating nonpartisan elections for prosecuting attorneys.
House votes yes on bonds for steel mill
posted: 04/09/2013 12:09 a.m. Comment 1
The state House of Representatives voted 78-17 Monday in favor of a bill authorizing the state to issue $125 million in bonds for a proposed $1.1 billion Big River Steel mill in Mississippi County.
Senate backs slash to jobless benefits
posted: 04/09/2013 12:06 a.m. Comments 22
A bill that sharply reduces unemployment benefits narrowly cleared the Arkansas Senate on Monday after a measure requiring applicants for and recipients of unemployment benefits to consent to random drug tests sailed through the chamber.
Milk bill on list legislators OK
posted: 04/07/2013 3:59 a.m. Comments 2
The sale of unpasteurized whole milk would become legal in Arkansas under legislation that cleared the state House of Representatives in a rare Saturday session.
Panels OK bills on tax cut, milk
posted: 04/06/2013 5:05 a.m. Discuss
A bill linking a cut in the state’s sales tax on groceries to a reduction in the state’s bond obligations or desegregation payments passed one House committee Friday, and another bill allowing sales of locally produced unpasteurized whole milk advanced in another.
Tax cuts on energy sales, capital gains advance
posted: 04/05/2013 12:45 a.m. Comment 1
Revamped bills cutting the state’s capital-gains taxes and the state’s sales tax on energy used by manufacturers cleared the Arkansas House tax committee Thursday.
Panel OKs bill to tie drug test to jobless aid
posted: 04/04/2013 12:22 a.m. Comments 15
A bill requiring recipients of unemployment benefits to consent to random drug tests cleared an Arkansas Senate committee Wednesday, but a measure sharply reducing the maximum weekly unemployment amount failed to clear the committee.
Senate panel rejects equal-rights endorsement
posted: 04/03/2013 3:50 a.m. Discuss
The Senate State Agencies Committee rejected a measure Tuesday that would ratify a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution to provide for equal rights for women under the law — a measure originally sent to the states in 1972.
Voter-ID veto is overturned
posted: 04/02/2013 12:05 a.m. Comment 1
The House of Representatives voted 52-45 Monday to overturn Gov. Mike Beebe’s veto of a bill requiring voters to provide photo identification at polling sites.
Legislative leaders back steel-mill deal
posted: 03/29/2013 12:46 a.m. Discuss
Arkansas House and Senate leaders Thursday signaled their support for legislation authorizing the state to issue $125 million in bonds for Big River Steel’s proposed $1.1 billion steel mill near Osceola, which its developers say will create 525 full-time jobs with annual average pay of about $75,000.
Tamer restrictions on inquiries into animal abuse clear panel
posted: 03/28/2013 3:17 a.m. Discuss
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday approved Sen. Gary Stubblefield’s watered-down legislation aimed at restricting the conduct of undercover animal-welfare activists and safeguarding the rights of accused animal owners.
Bucking veto, Senate votes for photo IDs
posted: 03/28/2013 12:46 a.m. Comments 2
In a party-line vote, the Arkansas Senate voted to override Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe’s veto of legislation requiring people to provide photo identification to vote.
Hutchinson cites rules, keeps tort measure alive
posted: 03/27/2013 5:40 a.m. Discuss
Competing proposed constitutional amendments to overhaul Arkansas’ tort laws, along with all other amendments proposed by state senators, will be considered by a joint House and Senate committee when it decides which amendments to refer to voters in the 2014 general election, if a Senate committee’s ruling stands.
Tax cuts on income, capital gains move on
posted: 03/27/2013 12:01 a.m. Comments 7
Two bills that would cut the state’s taxes on income and capital gains advanced through the Arkansas House Revenue and Taxation Committee on Tuesday, the 72nd day of the 2013 legislative session.
Voter ID legislation gets governor’s veto
posted: 03/26/2013 12:06 a.m. Comments 24
Gov. Mike Beebe vetoed legislation Monday that would require voters to present photo identification before casting their ballot, calling Senate Bill 2 an “expensive solution in search of a problem” that “is not supported by any demonstrated need.”
Fought waste then lost job, ex-chief says
posted: 03/26/2013 12:01 a.m. Discuss
The former executive director of the Arkansas Governor’s Developmental Disabilities Council has filed a lawsuit against the state, claiming she was fired in retaliation for identifying wasteful spending.
Bill to allow nonpartisan sheriff elections derailed
posted: 03/23/2013 4:24 a.m. Discuss
The Legislature took up several election-related bills Friday, including a measure to outlaw photographing a ballot and a bill to allow counties to make sheriff races nonpartisan.
