FAYETTEVILLE — A judicial candidate forum at the Washington County Bar Association meeting Monday turned chippy when the incumbent juvenile judge cried foul over her challenger's Friday "email blast."
Circuit Judge Stacey Zimmerman said information contained in an email and Facebook post contained false and misleading statements by Lisa Parks, a Fayetteville lawyer who is running against Zimmerman in the Division 3 race.
Judicial General Election
Elections for Arkansas judges and prosecuting attorneys are nonpartisan.
The Judicial General Election is May 20 and is held in conjunction with the state’s preferential primaries.
Source: Staff Reports
The post said Zimmerman's law license was suspended for nonpayment of her law license fee for almost one month in 2012 and for about three months for failing to take enough continuing legal education in 2007. The post said Zimmerman's license was suspended for four months and she continued hearing cases and making rulings.
Zimmerman said she has been in compliance since she got her license in 1989. Zimmerman said she failed to pay the license fee in 2012 and then paid the fee along with a $100 late payment fee. Zimmerman said her license was not suspended and there was no disciplinary action taken because of the missed payment. Zimmerman provided a receipt from the state Supreme Court Clerk's Office for $300, dated March 28, 2012.
Zimmerman said there is no mention of a license suspension in a 2007 Supreme Court order addressing late state bar association dues, only late fees.
An email from the Clerk of the Arkansas Supreme Court and Court of Appeals, provided by Fayetteville lawyer Mark Henry, said Zimmerman's license was suspended for nonpayment of annual dues from March 2, 2012, to March 28, 2012. Henry asked for license suspension information on about 40 judicial candidates from Northwest Arkansas and around the state from 2006 to the present.
Parks issued a statement later Monday saying she relied on the information provided by the Clerk's Office.
"Let me tell it to you this way. I did not knowingly make any false statement against my opponent. I relied in good faith upon the Supreme Court's Clerk's email response to Mr. Henry's FOIA request," Parks said in the emailed statement. "The Arkansas Supreme Court Clerk is the only source for this information. I have given the email that was sent from the Clerk's Office to the press so they can also verify my good faith reliance on the Clerk."
Denise Parks, office manager at the Clerk's Office, said a records search Monday afternoon indicated Zimmerman didn't pay license fees in March 2012, March 2007 and May 2000, leading to license suspensions of about a month, 11 days and two months, respectively.
Zimmerman said late Monday she does not remember being late on fees during those earlier times but had not had time to refer to financial records that are in storage.
Zimmerman said she has never been short on continuing legal education and often had more than was required. A copy of a document from the Professional Programs office of the state Supreme Court certifies Zimmerman was in compliance with continuing education requirements since her admission to the bar in 1989.
A Crossett lawyer, Gayle Zimmerman, had her license suspended from March 21, 2007 to June 25, 2007, for nonpayment of license fees, according to a document provided by Stacey Zimmerman.
The email from the Clerk's Office provided by Henry said Zimmerman was suspended for not enough continuing education from March 21, 2007, to June 25, 2007.
"There should be a level of civility to these races," Zimmerman said. "How do you unring the bell?"
Each judicial candidate in a contested race in Washington County was invited to attend the meeting and speak for five minutes each. Zimmerman spoke about her background and why she wants to remain judge then took more than her allotted time to address Parks' allegations.
Lisa Parks, who spoke first Monday, did not address the allegations made in last week's email.
Parks said, if elected, she would look at more alternative programs to locking kids up.
"If I can avoid locking up a young person, I will. If I can find a safe, stable home for kids taken into state custody, I will," Lisa Parks said. We can't keep doing the same thing and expecting different results. Locking up juveniles does not work."
Zimmerman said she tries to be creative when dealing with juveniles and their families and the goal is to reunite kids with their families if possible. She said most referrals to juvenile court are referred to diversion programs, there's been an 85 percent decrease in the percentage of kids sent to the state Department of Youth Services and the number of kids in the system has decreased over the last eight years.
In the other contested race in the 4th Judicial District, which includes Washington and Madison counties, Circuit Judge Doug Martin is facing Brian Lester, a Fayetteville lawyer for the Division 1 seat. Martin was appointed judge in Division 2 after Kim Smith retired. Martin could not run for the Division 2 bench because of the appointment but could run for the Division 1 seat held by Judge William Storey.
Storey could not run for re-election without losing his state pension and decided to run for Fayetteville District Judge. He will face Tim Snively, a Fayetteville lawyer, in the May judicial election.
Prosecuting Attorney John Threet did not draw an opponent for the Circuit Judge, Division 2 seat, held by Martin.
Matt Durrett, Threet's chief deputy, will take his boss's old job as prosecuting attorney for the 4th Judicial District.
Circuit Judges Cristi Beaumont, Division 4, and Beth Bryan Storey, Division 5, do not have opponents for re-election.
NW News on 04/08/2014