Arkansas Supreme Court Justice sought to block availability of video footage
Arkansas Chief Justice-elect Karen Baker left a voicemail with Arkansas Supreme Court Chief of Police Pete Hollingsworth in which she told him that video footage of her entering offices outside her chamber in the Justice Building should not be “going around.”
Preventing the footage from “going around” would be a violation of Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act.
The video footage was of her entering the office of Marty Sullivan, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), without his permission. Sullivan was at the time out of town attending a conference.
According to published reports and documents obtained by Talk Business & Politics through a FOIA request, Baker entered Sullivan’s office and left it “disheveled.” Some members of the AOC staff were reportedly harassed by Baker during the incident. The reports say Baker was accompanied by Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Courtney Hudson and Arkansas Commerce Department Chief of Staff Allison Hatfield, but it is unclear if they also entered Sullivan’s office.
Hudson tells Talk Business & Politics she “unequivocally” did not enter Sullivan’s office and video surveillance supports her statement.
“I simply walked to Sullivan’s office for a tour of the newly-built AOC workspace. Upon learning that Sullivan was not present, I left,” Hudson said.
AOC offices and those of the Supreme Court are inside the Justice Building which is on the Arkansas Capitol grounds.
The actions by Baker were reported to Arkansas Supreme Court officials, and on Dec. 5 the court issued a memo saying that justices are not allowed to enter the locked office of anyone outside of their chamber staff without permission. The memo specifically mentioned Hatfield.
“Allison Hatfield is not authorized to have access to nonpublic areas of the Justice Building unless she is accompanied by a security officer. Yet she may be in an individual Justice’s chambers, upon invitation by that Justice, if she is escorted to and from the chambers,” noted the memo.
A few days later, Mark Friedman, a reporter with Arkansas Business, contacted Baker to ask questions about video footage of her and the others entering the AOC offices. Baker attempted to call Hollingsworth on Dec. 11 about the media possibly having video footage – even though the footage is public information and subject to Arkansas’ FOIA.
“This is Karen Baker. I just received a call from Mark Friedman who was asking me about the video footage that was going around. Seemed to be surveillance footage. There better not be footage going around. Thank you,” Baker said in the voicemail obtained by Talk Business & Politics.
Baker on Dec. 12 sent her own FOIA request to Sullivan that included seeking:
• Any Justice Building video surveillance footage captured on December 4, 2024 released to reporter Mark Friedman with Arkansas Business; and
• Any and all communications regarding the release of Justice Building video surveillance footage captured on December 4, 2024.
“I am not the custodian of the Justice Building surveillance video footage that you requested. The Chief of Supreme Court Police, Pete Hollingsworth, is the custodian of the videos,” Sullivan wrote in a Dec. 17 response to Baker. “Pete asked that I convey to you that he has been on medical leave since Monday, 12/9/24. He has taken steps to preserve the requested videos, and they will be provided to you promptly upon his return to work.”
Sullivan had no comment about the matter, and Talk Business & Politics did not attempt to contact Hollingsworth during his medical leave. Baker did not respond to a request for comment about the voicemail.