Attorneys for Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen filed a petition Friday with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking a review of the judge's ongoing legal dispute with the justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court.
The petition for a writ of certiorari filed with the country's highest court comes after Griffen's complaints against the Arkansas Supreme Court have already been dismissed by the state's judicial watchdog, a federal district judge in Little Rock and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.
Chief Justice Dan Kemp of the Arkansas Supreme Court referred comment Friday to his attorney, Robert Peck, who dismissed the seriousness of Griffen's appeal. Peck and two other attorneys representing five of the seven justices on the court filed waivers with the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, signaling that they did not intend to respond to Griffen's petition.
"We don't believe that this is a substantial petition that is likely to interest the court," Peck said Friday.
The legal fight began in April 2017, when the state Supreme Court restricted Griffen from overseeing any cases involving the death penalty.
That decision was a reaction to Griffen's action in front of the Governor's Mansion, where he strapped himself to a cot in protest of capital punishment, on the same day he issued a ruling that temporarily threatened the state's plans to carry out executions.
Griffen has argued that the Arkansas justices violated his religious and free-speech rights by punishing him for the protest. His attorneys also alleged, without presenting evidence, that the justices engaged in out-of-court communications with the attorney general's office while considering an appeal of Griffen's actions.
A U.S. District Court judge, James Moody, had initially dismissed the state Supreme Court itself from Griffen's federal lawsuit earlier this year, but he allowed the suit to continue against each of the seven justices individually.
That decision was reversed by the 8th Circuit, which tossed the case.
"In addition to terminating the case, this ruling obviously prevented Judge Griffen from engaging in the discovery process, which we believe would have added significant support to his case and which the Justices fiercely opposed," said a news release from Griffen's attorneys.
In his petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, Griffen's attorney, Michael Laux, said the case presents several issues "of nationwide significance," including questions about the role of mandamus writs, the minimum standards for civil-rights pleadings and claims under state laws passed in accordance with the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act signed by President Bill Clinton.
However, Peck, the attorney for Kemp and Justices Shawn Womack and Robin Wynne, said the case did not involve a split between U.S. circuit courts, and therefore was unlikely to interest the U.S. justices.
In addition to Peck, attorneys representing Justices Courtney Goodson and Karen Baker also filed waivers of response with the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday. Peck, hired by Kemp, is also representing the court as a whole.
Attorneys for two other state Supreme Court justices, Rhonda Wood and Josephine "Jo" Hart, could not be reached for comment Friday.
Laux, Griffen's attorney, demurred when asked about the waivers filed Friday by attorneys opposing him.
"I'll reserve comment until I hear from each one of them," Laux said.
A separate complaint that led to charges of wrongdoing by the justices was dismissed by the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission last month. The commission is still reviewing Griffen's actions at the anti-death penalty protest.
Metro on 12/01/2018