Arkansas Supreme Court justices grill Chief Justice, each other in 3.5 hour marathon meeting

by Roby Brock ([email protected]) 936 views 

Members of the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday (Jan. 23) grilled each other in a three-and-a-half marathon meeting over the role of the Chief Justice and her administrative duties during a controversial first month of a new high court.

The seven-member court met for its first administrative meeting of the year that was attended by all members. To the surprise of several members, a live-stream of the meeting took place which brought the divisions of the court into the open public for hours.

Chief Justice Karen Baker has asserted several times that she has unilateral authority to make decisions regarding personnel, while other justices contended she doesn’t have that latitude.

Baker started the court session on Thursday declaring that a Jan. 6 court meeting that she and Justice Courtney Hudson did not attend was not recognized.

“[We’re] off to a rocky start. I hope the situation will improve. But I do not recognize anything that was done at that meeting because I did not call the court into session. We were in recess,” said Baker. “This is the first business meeting that I recognize.”

Later in the meeting, Justice Rhonda Wood recited the actions of the Jan. 6 meeting and sought to get a vote from a majority of the court to accept the report and its actions. The ensuing interrogations over the next hour centered on questions as to the Chief Justice’s authority.

Baker argued the Constitution gives the Chief Justice the power to “embody” the court, allowing for unilateral actions at times. Other justices questioned that authority and asked where the limitations of those powers began and ended, how customs and practices of the past were to be applied, and which legal words had more power – the state Constitution or state statutes.

At times, Baker struggled to defend her actions, even declaring at one point that she should have been better prepared for the debate. Justices Shawn Womack, Cody Hiland, and Rhonda Wood – who have been joined in several court orders by Justices Barbara Webb and Nicholas Bronni to reverse Baker’s orders – pointed out contradictions in customs and practices which were cited by Baker.

“I don’t understand why the court has been functioning as if there are only five members,” Baker said at one point.

“Because the chief has been functioning as if there is only one,” Womack fired back.

You can watch the video below for more details of the discussion and debate among the justices. It’s a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Arkansas Supreme Court, which has not previously broadcast or live-streamed its proceedings, much less administrative meetings such as the one on Thursday.

The first major exchanges begin at the 1:22:35 mark. You can also access the video here.