FAYETTEVILLE -- The race for 4th Judicial District Division 3 judge, pitting incumbent Stacey Zimmerman and drug court lawyer Lisa Parks, has so far proven to be the most contentious local political contest this election season.
Parks has staged social media and advertising blitzes attacking Zimmerman's record and decisions as a juvenile judge and her courtroom demeanor. Parks has questioned if Zimmerman is eligible to run for re-election after failing on at least one occasion to pay Arkansas Bar Association dues.
Zimmerman contends Parks hasn't set foot in her court more than a couple of times in the past 10 years. She also says Parks distorted her record of reversals by the Arkansas Court of Appeals and Supreme Court and included false information in her "media blasts."
"Zimmerman gets it wrong on important juvenile cases more than any other juvenile judge in Arkansas," according to an eight-page brochure. "Zimmerman does not always follow the law and improperly takes kids away from parents."
Parks said Zimmerman has been reversed 15 times, with nine of those in cases involving families.
"Each of these reversals is a serious problem that impacts the lives of children, families, social workers, and all of the many different moving parts to our juvenile justice system," Parks said. "When a juvenile judge takes or keeps a child from a family without legal authority, reuniting that child months or years later, when the Supreme Court finds the judge wrong is a terribly emotional ordeal for everybody involved."
Zimmerman concedes she has been reversed 14 times over the past 15 years but said she's heard 18,725 cases during that time, 99 of which were appealed. Of the appeals, 77 of Zimmerman's rulings were affirmed, five were dismissed or denied by the appeals courts, three were affirmed in part and reversed in part and 14 were reversed. Zimmerman contends the reversals represent less than 1 percent of the cases she's heard.
"Interestingly, my opponent lists incorrect information about the cases in which I was reversed, one case cited was not even my case," Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman said of the four "disgruntled participants," quoted in Parks' ad, only one was involved in a case that was appealed and her decision was affirmed in that instance by the Court of Appeals. None of the four filed a judicial complaint over the way they were treated in court.
"Obviously, having heard 18,725 cases over 15 years as a juvenile judge, there are two sides to every lawsuit. Only one side can prevail," Zimmerman said. "The party that needs to prevail in juvenile court should be the child and his or her best interest in abuse cases. In cases involving delinquent juveniles the focus should be on the juvenile, as the goal in juvenile court is rehabilitate, whenever possible, that delinquent juvenile."
Parks called Zimmerman out last month for not paying her bar dues on time and incorrectly claimed Zimmerman failed to keep up with continuing education requirements.
The Arkansas Supreme Court is still grappling with whether an administrative suspension within the last six years makes a person ineligible to run for judge. The issue arose in March after a judge in Faulkner County ruled lawyers who haven't paid their bar association dues on time are considered suspended. The lower court ruling brought the eligibility of more than 50 sitting judges into question.
Parks paid her dues late in spring 2006, which is prior to the six-year requirement.
Zimmerman said she paid her bar dues late in 2012 but is up to date on both her dues and continuing legal education. A late bar payment, Zimmerman said, should not disqualify a judicial candidate.
Parks said she was given erroneous information about Zimmerman by the clerk at the Arkansas Supreme Court. Spokesman Stephanie Harris said the office gave Parks bad information about Zimmerman's continuing legal education during a crush of requests for information about which judges and candidates failed to pay dues or keep up with their education requirements.
Zimmerman said early intervention and diversion programs established in juvenile court are working. Over the past eight years, the number of juveniles detained has decreased 55 percent and the number sent to the state Division of Youth Services has decreased 90 percent, according to Zimmerman. In 2012, 33 percent of the juveniles cited by police were placed in diversion programs and never appeared before her, Zimmerman said. In 2013, the rate was 43 percent she said.
Parks said she was asked to run by people concerned about the way Juvenile Court approaches children and families in need of services.
"I can appreciate the service our current judge has offered, but I believe that a high number of reversals on critically important cases where children are removed from their homes by the Department of Human Services is a true indication that improvements need to be made," Parks said. "When judges are reversed for not following the law, especially in these types of cases where parental rights are terminated or custody is permanently changed, the lives of children are impacted forever. It is hard for me to ignore the fact that the current judge gets it wrong on these extremely important DHS family law cases more than any other current juvenile judge in Arkansas."
Parks went to work in a sewing factory in Hampton when she graduated from high school and was a single mother of three by the time she graduated from law school at the University of Arkansas. Since then she has worked in criminal courts, juvenile courts and drug court. Parks said she believes in giving nonviolent offenders a second chance, with strings and conditions attached to keep them on the straight and narrow.
"I believe I can bring my life experiences of hard work, good juvenile judge mentoring, and day-to-day supervision of the many drug court clients to our Juvenile Court to help make it more reflective of the goal oriented second chance philosophy held by our good community," Parks said. "Anybody who knows me will describe me as professional and consistent. I treat all people with the same high level of respect. I believe that people are more than the sum of their mistakes."
Zimmerman said she had a private family law practice for eight years, representing abused and neglected children, children in custody cases and parents in divorce and paternity cases. She served as the juvenile prosecutor in Washington County for six years then was elected juvenile judge 15 years ago.
"I believe my choices to devote myself to juvenile law over the past 24 years show how I care about children and families, my commitment to children, my work ethic, my experience and that I care about these children in our court system every day, week and month, and not just during an election year."
As of April 15, Parks has a total of $5,197 in loans; $8,636 in campaign contributions and total expenditures of $13,478, including almost $6,000 in advertising, according to financial disclosure forms filed with the Arkansas Secretary of State. Zimmerman came into the race with $11,666 in her campaign chest. Her filings showed $7,139 in contributions and $3,139 in expenses, including more than $5,500 to pay her filing fee. Both campaigns hired consultants.
Elections for Arkansas judges and prosecuting attorneys are nonpartisan. Early voting started Monday for the May 20 Judicial General Election that is held in conjunction with the state's preferential primaries.
NW News on 05/06/2014