Blue Hog Report’s Matt Campbell Analyzes Judicial Eligibility Legalities

Matt Campbell with BlueHogReport.com says while the law seems clear, there may be wiggle room for interpretation in the fast-rising controversy over the eligibility of judicial candidates.

In recent weeks and due to the reporting of the Blue Hog blog, it has been revealed that several judicial candidates were late paying their licensing fees for their law licenses. The late payments resulted in suspended licenses until the fees were paid.

However, the Arkansas Constitution states that candidates for circuit judge “shall have been licensed attorneys of this state for at least six years immediately preceding the date of assuming office.” For appellate court positions, there is an eight-year provision.

Campbell, who is also leading a lawsuit for a client on the issue, says while an initial circuit court ruling suggests that the lapse is problematic, it may not trip up the judicial candidates in question.

“Whether an administrative suspension qualifies as not being licensed is the $64,000 question at this point,” he said on this week’s edition of Talk Business & Politics. “I think really the lack of due process for these administrative suspensions – if you don’t pay, then your licenses is suspended. There’s no hearing where you can defend that. I think that’s probably the strongest argument.”

Campbell also said that the issue may have far-reaching ramifications, especially in other contested judicial races around the state. Watch his full interview in the video below.