Rule No. 1: Citizens have the right to vote.
Rule No. 2: Voters have an absolute right to vote for the dumbest hick or biggest political hack that they want. Sometimes they do.
Even though early voting is nearly over, I write to help you to not unintentionally fall victim to Rule No. 2, and to express alarm at the number of judicial candidates across the state who are either unaware of the law or just do not care to abide by the law.
The Arkansas Constitution clearly states that all judicial races are to be non-partisan; judicial candidates are not allowed to identify with any political party. When judicial candidates picture themselves in photos with prominent members or elected officials of any party, it is nothing but a thinly veiled attempt to send a message to the voters that says, "I am a Republican," or less likely, "I am a Democrat."
One might argue with a straight face that these tactics are not technically a violation of the law or ethical considerations. Attempts to imply affiliation with a political party certainly violates the spirit of the law. One can only wonder what candidates who play fast and loose with ethics during a campaign will do if they are elected. Perhaps the conduct of their campaign is indicative of what their attitude towards ethics might be. You must decide if you want to tolerate these tactics or put a stop to them with your vote.
I will now endeavor to provide you with guidance, but first we need to understand terminology:
District Judges preside over what used to be called traffic court. The overwhelming majority of their cases concern traffic tickets. Although a busy District Judge disposes of dozens of cases a week, most of the time that just means stamping a docket book showing that the bond, also called a fine, is forfeited. District Judges also handle a handful of petty criminal cases and civil cases involving small damage amounts, as well as bond hearings for Circuit Court in some jurisdictions.
Circuit Judges hear serious criminal cases, civil cases involving high amounts of damages, domestic cases (divorce and custody), juvenile cases, and probate cases (wills, adoptions, and guardianships). Circuit Court is the only state court in Arkansas wherein jury trials are held. Circuit Courts also hear appeals from District Court wherein the parties start afresh with a new trial. Unlike District Court, Circuit Court is a court of record, meaning that a court reporter takes down everything that is said on the record and evidence is carefully preserved.
Court of Appeals Judges hear most appeals from Circuit Court. They do not retry a case. Instead, they review a case to see if the Circuit Court made any mistakes which might have affected the outcome of a trial. If they find no mistakes, they affirm the Circuit Court's judgment. If they find a mistake that could have affected the outcome, in most instances they send the case back to Circuit Court for the mistake to be corrected. This often involves a retrial.
Judges of the Arkansas Supreme Court hear cases involving interpretation of the Arkansas Constitution, Arkansas statutes, criminal cases in which the defendant received the death penalty or life in prison, as well as occasionally reviewing cases heard by the Court of Appeals. They also do not retry a case but, like the Court of Appeals, are looking for errors made by a lower court.
All of the above judges are required to be licensed attorneys. County judges are not law judges and are not required to be attorneys. They are roughly to a county what a mayor is to a city.
Because judicial candidates are limited by the Code of Judicial Conduct in what they can or cannot say during a campaign, it is sometimes difficult for voters to see any differences between candidates. All claim to be experienced, to have integrity, and to be respected.
I cannot give you hard and fast rules for determining the best candidate, but would offer the following guidelines. Judges in courts of law are not allowed to publicly campaign for or even endorse a candidate for any elected position. They can do so privately. They are free to tell friends, family, or other folks, one-on-one, who they believe would be best suited for the bench.
So if you have a connection to a judge, ask him or her discreetly which candidate is most qualified. That judge has probably seen the candidate in action. Another way to get the inside scoop as to which judicial candidate to vote for is to ask a local attorney. Preferably, ask several so that you can get a consensus.
If you cannot do either of those, look closely at what the candidate calls his or her qualifications. Do those claimed qualifications actually qualify the candidate to serve in the judicial position he or she is seeking, or are they merely window dressing?
What about dark money, negative advertising, and mud-slinging? You must determine if what is said is true and if so, if it is negative or mud-slinging. You must also decide if the information is relevant. Does it tend to make one candidate more or less qualified than another? With regard to dark money and advertising, the same analysis applies. However, if the dark money is coming from a political party, then once again the spirit of non-partisanship is being violated.
Grisham Phillips is a circuit judge in Saline County.
Editorial on 03/01/2020