BENTONVILLE — The Arkansas Supreme Court will be in Bentonville on Thursday to hear arguments in a case that has made national headlines.
Kuntrell Jackson was sentenced to life in prison for the shooting death of a video store clerk in Blytheville in 1999. Jackson was one of three defendants involved, but was only 14 years old at the time and didn’t handle a gun during the incident, according to court documents.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year mandatory life sentences without parole for those younger than 18 violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. Jackson’s case was one of two the U.S. Supreme Court considered when it made its ruling.
Judges and juries may still impose life sentences for a juvenile as long as they consider all factors in the case, including the juvenile’s upbringing.
Jackson’s representatives are asking the Arkansas Supreme Court to remand his case to circuit court with directions to vacate his life sentence.
The court will hear arguments in the case of Jackson v. Hobbs at 9 a.m. Thursday at NorthWest Arkansas Community College’s White Auditorium. Hobbs refers to Ray Hobbs, director of the state Department of Correction.
The court’s session is open to the public, but seating will be limited, said Steven Hinds, college spokesman.
The auditorium has about 300 seats, but more than half of them will be taken by high school students attending at the court’s invitation, Hinds said. Bentonville High School and Rogers High School students have been invited, according to Stephanie Harris, spokeswoman for the Arkansas Supreme Court. Students from the University of Arkansas Law School also have been invited.
The remaining seats will be filled on a first-come, first-serve basis, Hinds said.
Each side will have 20 minutes to make its argument, so proceedings should be done by about 9:40 a.m., Hinds said.
The state Supreme Court’s Bentonville appearance is part of its “Appeals on Wheels” program made possible by Amendment 80 to the state constitution in 2000. This will be the 16th time since the amendment passed the court has conducted oral arguments outside Little Rock, Harris said. The court last held arguments in Bentonville in 2008.
Justices plan to visit area middle and high schools Thursday afternoon to meet students and teachers.