81 judges since ’06 on suspension list

Nearly one-third of the state’s sitting judges since 2006 have been suspended from practicing law a combined 157 times for nonpayment of annual law-license dues, according to a review of information provided by the clerk of the courts.

Eighty-one of the state’s 256 circuit, district and appellate court judges were included in the clerk’s list of attorneys who have made payments after the annual March 1 dues deadline.

The suspensions were among more than 6,000 issued during that time period to nearly 4,000 of the state’s approximately 8,200 active lawyers, according to information obtained under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.

The suspensions have attracted increased scrutiny after recent lawsuits challenging judicial eligibility because of them.

Specially appointed Judge John Cole ruled last month that “a suspension is a suspension is a suspension” and disqualified a candidate from seeking judicial office who was suspended from practicing law for several years because she failed to complete required annual training.

But three subsequent rulings in separate lawsuits found that suspensions for nonpayment of dues - considered administrative - should not disqualify a person from seeking judicial office. A separate petition to the Arkansas Supreme Court has asked the justices to reach the same conclusion.

The list of judges suspended for nonpayment since 2006 includes three Court of Appeals judges - Bill Walmsley, Rhonda Wood and Kenneth Hixson - and 37 circuit judges. Forty-one district judges were also suspended for nonpayment.

None of the Supreme Court’s seven justices were suspended in the eight-year period.

Amendment 80 of the Arkansas Constitution sets the criteria for judicial offices in the state. The amendment states that appeals court judges and Supreme Court justices must have been “licensed attorneys” for at least eight years “immediately preceding the date of assuming office.”

Circuit judges must be licensed for six years before holding office and district judges for four years, according to the constitution.

Rule VII of the Arkansas Rules Governing Admission of the Bar states that “failure to pay the annual license fee … shall automatically suspend the delinquent lawyer from the practice of law in Arkansas.”

Some have interpreted the rule to mean that in addition to suspension from practicing law, the attorney’s law license is suspended. It’s a question that has not been entirely resolved.

The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission has previously issued letters of admonishment to judges for failing to pay their annual license dues on time but has not done so in years.

Pine Bluff District Judge John Kearney received the most suspensions during the eight-year period with seven, while Madison County District Judge Dale Ramsey had the longest suspension in a given year - more than eight months - before paying his dues Nov. 3, 2009, according to records from the clerk of the courts.

Kearney and Ramsey did not return phone messages seeking comment Wednesday afternoon.

In Cole’s ruling last month, Little Rock lawyer Valerie Thompson Bailey became the only candidate this year to be disqualified from seeking office because of an administrative suspension. Bailey had filed to run against Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox, but her law license was suspended while she was living out of state and was not taking continuing legal-education courses.

This month, Fox and Circuit Judge H.G. Foster of Conway, as well as Angela Byrd - a judicial candidate from Conway - won in separate lawsuits that challenged their eligibility to seek office because all three had been suspended for nonpayment of dues.

Also, Foster has asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to consider the issue directly rather than wait for an appeal. In his petition, he named Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and Secretary of State Mark Martin as respondents.

In its response to Foster’s Supreme Court petition, the attorney general’s office has asked the court to not consider the suspensions from practicing law as suspensions of law licenses, and to not disqualify attorneys from eligibility to hold judicial seats on the basis of the suspensions.

Jeff Rosenzweig, the Little Rock attorney who filed the Supreme Court petition on Foster’s behalf, said that although Foster has won in his lawsuit, there would still be value in the high court taking up the case.

“I think just from a ‘what is the law’ standpoint, it would be good to get a definitive ruling one way or the other on this issue. … [That way] you won’t have these lawsuits flying around all the time,” Rosenzweig said.

Kenneth Gallant, a professor at the University of Arkansas W.H. Bowen School of Law in Little Rock, said he agreed that the issue is still ripe for the high court to address.

“I think that it is a question of public interest, and I think it would be a good thing for the state Supreme Court to let people know what the deal is,” Gallant said.

He said the number of judges with suspensions was “a bit higher than I expected,” but that “if you have a suspension policy of suspending when you’re a day late then you can expect to get that sort of thing.”

There is also a perception among some lawyers that the suspensions for nonpayment of dues are less serious than disciplinary suspensions, he said.

Gallant said if the Supreme Court finds that a suspension for nonpayment of dues is a suspension of the attorney’s license, it could have a serious effect on the state.

“One would wind up saying that if you haven’t been validly licensed continuously for the required period of time for your court, you are not qualified to be a judge,” he said.

Stephanie Harris, a spokesman for the Arkansas Supreme Court, said the court is in charge of regulating the practice of law under the Arkansas Constitution. Supreme Court committees appointed by the court regularly review the court’s rules but can also be directed by the court to address specific issues, she said.

Harris said she could not comment specifically on the issue of suspensions for nonpayment because the issue could go before the court.