Crime And Punishment Take Center Stage In New Bill Filings

A series of bills filed Thursday could provide a bright line for judges when they dispense justice or have to step away from a case or face criminal charges.

Rep. Rebecca Petty, R-Rogers, filed House Bill 1473 Thursday afternoon. The bill would look at the methods used to carry out the state’s death penalty, which currently is by lethal injection.

Arkansas has not carried out an execution by lethal injection since 2005 due to legal challenges and difficulty acquiring the drugs needed to carry out the death sentence.

While Petty’s bill, currently in shell form, does not include specific methods, Petty said that the punishment would include looking at how other states conduct executions.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, those methods include lethal injection, electrocution, the gas chamber, hanging, and possibly firing squads. Firing squads are used in Utah if an inmate chooses the method if he was convicted of his crime before it was eliminated as a state option. Oklahoma is the only other state to consider firing squads if lethal injection and electrocution are found unconstitutional, according to the center’s web site.

Petty said she is consulting with the governor’s office on her measure, indicating that the Hutchinson administration’s preference is still lethal injection. She said she is willing to do a nationwide study to see what might be most effective.

The bill would only cover capital murder and treason cases in the state.

Petty, whose daughter was found raped and murdered in 1999, has worked on several criminal justice-related bills this session.

The man convicted of the murder, Karl D. Roberts, is on death row at Varner Supermax prison. One of the bills – Andi’s Law – is named after her daughter.

The bill, which passed the legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, would allow family members of murder victims to witness the execution of the person convicted in their family member’s case.

The bill filed Thursday was the second bill in a month involving the death penalty issue.

Sen. David Burnett, D-Osceola, filed a bill to repeal the death penalty in the state. Burnett’s bill was approved Wednesday by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill is likely to face opposition from the state’s prosecuting attorneys as well as the entire Senate.

Petty said her effort to explore other methods of execution was in response to the Senate Judiciary committee’s action. She said the committee’s decision was “a slap in the face after fighting for Andi’s Law.”

JUDICIAL ETHICS
Rep. John Baine, D-El Dorado, filed House Bills 1456, 1457 and 1458 after speaking to attorneys, judges and the state’s judicial ethics commission about the issue of unethical behavior from the bench.

“It is regrettable in light of recent events,” Baine said of the filings of the bills.

The issue of judicial ethics has been at the forefront since former Circuit Judge Mike Maggio pleaded guilty in January to federal bribery charges.

Maggio, who was running for a seat on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, was accused of accepting a campaign contribution that he told authorities influenced his decision to reduce a jury verdict in 2013, Talk Business and Politics reported in January.

Baine said House Bill 1456 would amend state law by allowing for an automatic suspension for judges and justices in different circumstances.

“A judge shall be suspended from office with pay by the Supreme Court when if an indictment or information charges the judge in any court in the United States with a crime punishable as a felony under the laws of Arkansas or the United States or with any offense that involves moral turpitude,” Baine’s bill noted. “(Also) in any court in the United States he or she pleads guilty or no contest to, or is found guilty of, an offense punishable as a felony under the laws of Arkansas or the United States, or if any other offense that involves moral turpitude.”

If the judge asks for a hearing on the suspension, the Supreme Court has to hold the hearing no later than 10 days after the request is made. The justices would decide whether or not the suspension remains in effect while criminal proceedings are being done.

House Bill 1457 deals with the recusal issue, while House Bill 1458 would repeal a law involving a judge’s ability to hold elected or appointed office after being removed as a judge. A state Supreme Court ruling in 2010 found the law unconstitutional.

Baine said the bill would strengthen the recusal process that judges must do if a conflict happens. Under the bill, a judge would have to recuse himself or herself if certain criteria were met.

“In a civil action on motion of a party or on the motion of a court, a justice or judge shall recuse himself or herself if as a result of a substantial campaign contribution made to or on behalf of the justice or judge in the immediately preceding election by a party who has a case pending before that justice or judge,” the bill notes.

The bill would set a 10% contribution threshold for justices and judges on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, a 15% threshold for circuit judges and a 25% threshold for district judges before a recusal would happen.

If a judge or justice denies a motion to recuse, the recusal order has to be in writing and can be appealed within 30 days to an appellate court, Baine said in his bill. The bill would also set the relationship barriers for a recusal.

“A party includes a party or real party in interest to the case or an immediate family member of the party or real party in interest; a holder of five percent or more of the value of a party that is a corporation, limited liability company, firm, partnership or any other business entity; an affiliate or subsidiary of a corporate party; an attorney for the party and another lawyer in practice with the party’s attorney,” Baine said in his bill.

Baine said Thursday he looked at laws in other states for reference on the bill, especially the threshold issue.

He also said he wished the bills were not needed, saying most judges are “decent, hardworking people.”

“It hurts not just one, but the entire process,” Baine said.

FRIDAY’S SCHEDULE
The following is a list of committee meetings set for Friday in the Arkansas General Assembly:

House Committees
9:00 a.m. – Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development, Room 138.
9:00 a.m. – Insurance & Commerce, Room 149.
9:00 a.m. – State Agencies & Governmental Affairs, Room 151.

The House will convene at 10 a.m. Friday, while the Senate is off.