A former prosecutor and deputy director of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission has been appointed executive director, the commission announced Wednesday.
David Sachar replaced David Stewart, who held the position since July 2007, on Jan. 1. The 18-member commission, made up of six judges, six lawyers and six residents, made the selection.
The commission was created in 1988 and investigates complaints against judges in the state.
Sachar said in an interview that his work at the commission varies greatly from that of a prosecutor because of privacy policies regarding cases. But he said he enjoys his work.
“I really think it’s an important job,” Sachar said. “The judiciary really can’t function without the trust of the people.”
Sachar stressed the importance of the commission’s work in a statement released Wednesday announcing his appointment.
“This commission works hard to maintain the balance between judicial independence and confronting judicial misconduct and we will continue to do so,” Sachar said.
Sachar grew up in Rose Bud and graduated from Harding University before attending the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He graduated from the school in 1994 andworked in the Office of the Prosecutor Coordinator until 1996, when he became a prosecutor in the 17th Judicial District in Searcy under Chris Raff.
After a year in private practice, Sachar returned to prosecuting cases in Pulaski County, where he remained from 1999 to 2003.
Sachar, who is licensed in five states, then joined the Florida-based Wilkes-McHugh law firm, which specializes in nursing-home litigation.
In 2007, he returned to Little Rock to become the commission’s deputy director.
Sachar helped investigate Willard Proctor Jr. of Little Rock, a circuit judge who improperly operated the Cycle Breakers probation program out of his court. Proctor was removed from the bench in January 2010 by the state Supreme Court, which ruled the judge violated ethical standards. Sachar said he had previously prosecuted cases in Proctor’s court.
Stewart, the departing executive director, called it the “best professional job I have ever held.”
“The position ... ranks above all others, even my tenure as a judge, which I treasure highly,” Stewart said in a statement.
In an interview, Raff applauded Sachar’s appointment to the commission. He said the attorney was “outstanding” in the prosecutor’s office in Searcy and that he will do a “very good job” at the commission.
“He’s an outstanding choice to lead that [commission],” Raff said.
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 12 on 01/10/2013