Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice John Dan Kemp has accepted the resignation of 13th Judicial Circuit Judge Robin Carroll, according to a press release from the Administrative Office of the Courts.
Judge Kemp received an email from Carroll at 4:29 p.m. Friday. The email simply stated, “I resign as Circuit Judge effective immediately.”
Carroll’s resignation came after the Arkansas Supreme Court had suspended Carroll for 18 months. The high court had found the length of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission's recommended suspension insufficient due to the judge’s “extended pattern of misconduct.”
The commission’s investigation found three instances in which Carroll improperly dismissed cases, demonstrated bias and failed to recuse himself, tried to improperly influence state Game and Fish Commission cases in other courts or showed a lack of diligence in record-keeping and docket management.
Carroll was one of the six judges of the six-county 13th Judicial Circuit of Calhoun, Cleveland, Columbia, Dallas, Ouachita and Union counties. He presided over criminal cases in Calhoun, Dallas, Ouachita and Union counties and heard civil cases in Calhoun, Cleveland, Columbia, Ouachita and Union counties. He also handled some probate cases in Calhoun County.
Licensed since 1996, Carroll was elected in 2012 without opposition after serving as the circuit’s elected prosecutor for two terms before running for the Union County-based judgeship. He won re-election in 2014 and 2020, also without facing a challenger.