Arkansas Supreme Court
Arkansas filing period ends with all congressional seats contested, four-way race for chief justice
When the dust settled on Arkansas’ 2024 candidate filing period Tuesday afternoon, all four of Arkansas’ incumbent congressmen had Democratic opponents and one faces a primary challenger. State Sen. Clint Penzo, R-Springdale, filed late Monday to run against U.S. Rep. Steve Womack in the 3rd Congressional District Republican primary, making it the most high-profile March […]
Arkansas candidates for state and federal offices begin filing for 2024 election
Arkansas’ first candidates for next year’s elections formally entered their races Monday, kicking off the weeklong candidate filing period and the 2024 election cycle. President Joe Biden’s and Donald Trump’s campaigns registered for the ballot here along with representatives for other Republican presidential candidates: Vivek Ramaswamy, Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley. Two of Arkansas’ sitting […]
LIST: Who filed to run for office on the first day of Arkansas’ 2024 filing period?
Candidates began filing for office at noon Monday in the Arkansas Capitol. Here’s who filed on the first day*: President Joe Biden (D) Ron DeSantis (R) Nikki Haley (R) Vivek Ramaswamy (R) Donald Trump (R) ARKANSAS CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION Rodney Govens (D) Rep. French Hill (R) Marcus Jones (D) Caitlin Draper (D) […]
Arkansas 2024 candidate filing period opens Monday for state, federal offices
The 2024 election cycle officially begins in Arkansas on Monday with the week-long candidate filing period. Secretary of State John Thurston plans to open the state Capitol rotunda to candidates at noon Monday. Pomp and circumstance usually rules the first half hour, and some candidates race to be the first filers of the year. In […]
UPDATED: Pope County chief asks county board to remain neutral in legal fight over casino license
UPDATE: The Pope County Quorum Court on Thursday night voted to table the resolution. Pope County Judge Ben Cross will ask the county quorum court Thursday for neutrality in the ongoing legal debate over which company should receive a license to open a Russellville casino. Last week, the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a lower court […]
UPDATED: Arkansas Supreme Court upholds lower court ruling nullifying Pope County casino license
This story was updated at 6:43 p.m. on Monday, October 30, 2023. The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a lower court ruling that stripped a Pope County casino license from a Cherokee Nation Businesses partnership. The decision likely reopens the license application process. In response to the decision, Pope County Judge Ben Cross sent […]
Arkansas Supreme Court dismisses lawsuit challenging LEARNS Act emergency clause
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday reversed a lower court’s ruling invalidating the LEARNS Act’s emergency clause and dismissed the case. The state’s high court was considering Attorney General Tim Griffin’s appeal of Pulaski County Judge Herbert Wright’s June ruling that the emergency clause of the governor’s sweeping education law is invalid because it was […]
Former Democratic legislator, gubernatorial candidate to run for Arkansas chief justice
A former Democratic state legislator and gubernatorial candidate announced Wednesday that he would run against three sitting members for chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court. Jay Martin, who served in the Arkansas House from 2003-2006 and ran in last year’s Democratic primary for governor, formally announced his chief justice candidacy Wednesday, a few weeks […]
Arkansas attorney general disputes claim LEARNS appeal is moot
Attorney General Tim Griffin asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to reject plaintiffs’ claims that the appeal of a lawsuit challenging the LEARNS Act’s effective date is moot and to reverse a lower court’s ruling. In a reply brief filed Friday, Griffin said the state’s high court should invoke the public-interest exception to mootness, reverse the […]
With Arkansas LEARNS in effect, should the Supreme Court rule on emergency clause case?
The Arkansas Supreme Court now must choose whether to decide once-and-for-all if the state Legislature’s process for voting on emergency clauses is constitutional. That is one of several questions that have been put before the high court in the appeal of a case that delayed implementation of the LEARNS Act. The Phillips County residents and […]
Federal judge temporarily blocks two sections of Arkansas’ library obscenity law
A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of the law that would have changed how Arkansas libraries handle controversial material and put the availability of certain books in the hands of elected officials. U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks granted plaintiffs’ request to enjoin two of the five sections of Act 372 of 2023, which would alter […]
Arkansas attorney general files brief in LEARNS Act appeal
With just a few days before the LEARNS Act takes effect, Arkansas’ attorney general filed a brief in his appeal of a ruling that delays the effective date of the governor’s expansive education law. In a 45-page brief filed Friday, Attorney General Tim Griffin asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to reverse a Pulaski County Circuit […]