Lipscomb Sticks With Plan After Meeting

BENTONVILLE -- Ben Lipscomb will move ahead with his plan to not use plea bargains to resolve city cases in Rogers District Court.

Rogers District Judge Paul Bridges met with Lipscomb and police Thursday morning to discuss Lipscomb's decision.

Lipscomb, city attorney, sent a letter to attorney Monday informing them he no longer would negotiate pleas to resolve cases. Individuals will have to plead guilty to the court or go to trial.

The practice will begin immediately and there'll be no exceptions, Lipscomb wrote in the letter.

Plea offers given to individuals will be honored, Lipscomb said.

Lipscomb said Thursday's meeting wasn't about trying the change his mind. Lipscomb wouldn't comment on the specifics of the meeting, but he said he felt it was positive.

"We discussed my decision and how to deal with it," he said. "There were no surprises to me."

Mayor Greg Hines declined to comment on the matter Thursday.

Lipscomb said he discussed his decision with Bridges and police before he sent the letter. Lipscomb said he didn't receive any objection.

"I do not support this position of not making plea offers," Bridges said Thursday. "I didn't tell him before, but he got that message today."

Bridges said he didn't want to be placed in a position of "trying to run the city attorney's office."

Bridges thinks Lipscomb is removing an important step in the court process.

The district court handles several hundred cases each month. Many are resolved at arraignment when people plead guilty, Bridges said. There are still hundreds of cases that will be impacted and need trials if they aren't resolved through plea negotiation, Bridges said.

Bridges said he schedules about 50 cases on trial dates and the majority are resolved short of a trial. Bridges said he probably presides over about 20 trials a month.

Bridges believes most attorneys will not let their clients plead guilty to the court, so without plea agreements there'll be hundreds of cases that need to be tried.

"I can't force him to do anything," Bridges said of Lipscomb. "I can require him to be at all hearings, even ones for a plea. He will have to provide a statement of facts for those cases."

Bridges said it will not be an issue until Jan. 8 -- the first plea discovery date with Lipscomb not making any plea offers.

Bridges says he may have to schedule more trial days with the possibility of weekend court.

Bentonville attorney Seth Bickett had a copy of Lipscomb's letter posted on a wall in his law office this week.

From a cynical point of view the government infighting could be amusing, Bickett said.

"Until you realize it's a shame because it could result in a waste of taxpayer money," Bickett said. "The last thing the city needs is the district court filled with police all day long waiting for trial after trial instead of keeping the streets safe. What would be unacceptable is if a citizen of Rogers, that may or may not be a client of mine, could lose their job or suffer some other similar injustice because of politics and ego."

Chris Griffin was named Rogers staff attorney Sept. 24. Many city attorney duties were transferred to Griffin, who handles legislative duties for the city. That includes acting as legal adviser to officials, boards, commissions and other agencies and representing them in court. Griffin also will prosecute all violations of city ordinances.

The transfer of those duties left the prosecution of misdemeanors as the sole duty of the city attorney.

Bonnie Bridges, now a deputy city attorney, will transfer to a staff attorney position Jan. 1. That move would leave Lipscomb responsible for prosecuting misdemeanors.

Lipscomb filed a complaint in U.S. District Court last week that requested the duties be returned to his office. The complaint states the ordinance passed by the Rogers City Council violates the U.S. Constitution.