Chief Justice fires employees, five justices stand against terminations

Newly sworn-in Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Karen Baker terminated key employees at the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), but five of the high court’s justices contend she lacks the authority to fire them.

On Friday (Jan. 3), a flurry of court orders, memos and statements were made public that indicates Baker, who was sworn in on Wednesday, fired or sought to fire the following employees:

• Director of Administrative Office of the Courts;
• Director of Emergency Preparedness and Chief of Supreme Court Police;
• Juvenile Justice Division Director;
• Director of Alternative Dispute Resolution Programs and Director of Judicial Education;
• Director of Finance and Administration;
• Legal Services Division Director;
• Court Information Systems Division Director;
• Court Information Systems Division Deputy Director;
• District Court Staff Attorney; and
• Administrator of the Commission of Children, Youth, and Families.

Baker claimed to have the authority to nominate a new director of the AOC, a position that has been held by Marty Sullivan, a 23-year veteran of the court.

An administrative order signed by Justices Rhonda Wood, Barbara Webb, Shawn Womack, Cody Hiland, and Nicholas Bronni disputed Baker’s claim and called on the employees to remain in their current positions of employment.

“The Director, however, serves at the pleasure of the entire court, not the Chief Justice alone,” the order signed by the five justices said. “The Chief Justice did not notify — let alone consult – the court before attempting to unilaterally fire these long-tenured court employees.”

Calling the firings “retaliatory” and creating “potential disruption,” the justices’ order claimed the director of the AOC could not be terminated without the “express consent” of at least four members of the seven-member Supreme Court. They suggested that other employees could only be terminated by the director of the AOC.

“As it relates to employees of the Administrative Office of the Courts, no employee of the Supreme Court of Arkansas or the Administrative Office of the Courts shall process any termination letter, restrict access to physical space, restrict access to information-technology services, cut off payroll, or otherwise restrict employment activity without the express approval of the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts,” the order stated.

“Any terminations that have occurred on or after January 1, 2025, in contravention of this order are hereby rescinded, effective immediately. The failure to abide by any provision of this order may result in a citation for contempt,” it further declared.

Baker disagreed and said the termination of AOC director Sullivan was supported by the state Constitution, precedent from previous Supreme Court Chief Justice John Dan Kemp, and was her prerogative. She provided to Talk Business & Politics a 2017 letter from Kemp, who addressed a previous effort to create a four-justice majority on administrative issues, a move he said would “impair the constitutional authority of the Chief Justice.”

Kemp argued in 2017 that allowing a majority of Supreme Court justices to make administrative decisions would “usurp” his power and objected to the effort.

“I conclude that the efficient administration of the judiciary requires the Chief Justice to exercise authority unencumbered by controversy that comes with seven court members seeking to administer the court by a majority vote,” Kemp’s 2017 letter argued.

Baker cited this as logic for her unilateral decision declaring that changes in administration often accompany newly elected officials when they take office.

“[A]s my predecessor explained at the outset of his term as Chief Justice, under my constitutional authority and duty as Chief Justice as set forth in Amendment 80 of the Arkansas Constitution, I will not recognize any attempts to override, change, or otherwise impair the administrative authority of the Chief Justice or any attempts to establish or exercise any alleged authority of associate justices over administrative matters. Arkansas statutory law is clear that the Chief Justice is entrusted with the sole authority to nominate a Director of the AOC.

“When Chief Justice Kemp was elected, he nominated Sullivan to serve as the Director of the AOC. I was elected to serve as the Chief Justice beginning January 1, 2025. Therefore, as the duly sworn Chief Justice, Arkansas law authorizes me to nominate a Director of the AOC. However, shortly before I was slated to become the Chief Justice, five members of this court attempted to commandeer my authority by executing the agreement which provides that Sullivan will remain the Director of the AOC for the duration of my term.

“It is no secret that growing pains are part and parcel of any post-election transition. The citizens of Arkansas voted and elections have consequences. I intend to do the job that the people elected me to do,” Baker said.

Talk Business & Politics received a memo and a letter dated Jan. 3 from Sullivan that explains his opposition to the firing of the other nine AOC employees. His letter to Chief Justice Baker called her actions “reprehensible.”

“What my team has endured the last few months is sad, outrageous, and completely unacceptable,” said Sullivan. “When we met yesterday, I shared with you that I have deep respect for this institution and the Office of Chief Justice, and that my staff and I looked forward to continuing to work hard for all courts in Arkansas. Your actions today were disappointing and beneath the dignity of the office. Despite the chaos caused today, I will ensure the Administrative Office of the Courts continues to serve the dedicated judges and court staff all across this great state with excellence as always.”

Justice Wood, who also ran for the Chief Justice post in 2024, provided an additional statement to TB&P offering a different perspective on Baker’s interpretation of Kemp’s 2017 letter.

“Her statement is intellectually dishonest. The statute provides that the Director serves at the ‘pleasure of the court.’ The Chief nominates upon a vacancy, but there is not a vacancy. Chief Kemp nominated Marty Sullivan upon the resignation of the prior Director in March of 2017. Chief Kemp did not nominate a new Director upon entering office but only when a vacancy occurred.

“Justice Karen Baker’s inexplicable behavior today is unacceptable and arbitrary. These exemplary employees are real people with families. Some just recently received national awards. The sudden termination of them would have severely disrupted the ability of the system to function. I and other members of this court will not stand by while these employees are targeted. We will protect the justice system and the employees that serve it,” said Wood.

Arkansas Code Annotated 16-10-102 addresses the selection of the director of the AOC.