Chief Justice Jim Hannah missed the past seven weekly sessions of oral arguments in the Arkansas Supreme Court's spring term, according to recordings of the proceedings.
While the court's other six justices attended all 15 of this year's oral arguments, Hannah was absent starting April 23 until the final oral argument before the court's summer recess June 18, according to recordings reviewed by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
The paper tried to reach Hannah each of the past four days to discuss his status but was unsuccessful. Hannah's assistant, Sharri Stewart, said Hannah had received the requests for comment.
Although no explanation for his absences was given, current and former court officials have said that Hannah, 70, was experiencing health problems related to severe back pain.
Hannah's son, White County Circuit Judge Craig Hannah, said he had no comment on his father's absences.
"Anything concerning his health is a private matter," Craig Hannah said. "When he is ready to talk about anything of that nature, it will come from him."
Running as a Democrat, Jim Hannah won a seat on the Supreme Court in 2000, the last year before the races became nonpartisan; in 2004, he successfully ran for chief justice, receiving 62.5 percent of the vote. In 2008, he was unopposed for re-election.
State law requires judges to retire after age 70 or else forfeit retirement benefits. The law allows judges who turn 70 to finish their term without losing their retirement pay.
Hannah, who lives in Searcy, has an annual salary of $180,000. He last attended oral arguments April 16 in Mountain Home. (Although the court typically meets in Little Rock, it holds what it calls "Appeals on Wheels" in communities across the state.)
The Supreme Court began its summer recess not long after the June 18 arguments. Oral arguments before the court will resume Sept. 10.
Stephanie Harris, the Supreme Court's former communications counsel, said that although Hannah missed oral arguments in the spring, the justice continued to participate in cases and handle his administrative duties as chief justice.
Harris' position was eliminated in May although court officials did not give a reason.
"Hannah is not one to talk about his health, but it was evident at the Spring Appeals on Wheels arguments in Mountain Home that he was not well, physically," Harris said in a written statement Wednesday. "When he was not present for arguments, I understand he watched the live-stream recordings, as anyone can do on the Judiciary website. It is also my understanding that he would participate in conference and communicate with staff via telephone.
"I worked with [Hannah] for five years and if he wasn't ill or traveling, he was in the office. In fact, there were plenty of times we would tell him to go home because he was sick and needed the rest."
On Thursday, Supreme Court Clerk Stacey Pectol said Hannah's prolonged absence was not "unprecedented" but was "a little unusual."
Pectol, who said she doesn't know whether Hannah will finish his term, said she and others thought his absences from oral arguments was related to a developing health problem.
"He was obviously in such pain when he was here; everyone assumed it was his back, but there was never direct discussion about it to my knowledge," Pectol said.
Hannah continued to work, following all of the arguments via the court's Internet stream, and would participate in conferences with other justices by remote, Pectol said.
"[Hannah] is very dedicated to his work," Pectol said. "The public can be assured that he has been able to conduct the courts business uninterrupted ... with whatever health issues he's been having."
On April 23, Justice Paul Danielson, who is the longest-tenured justice on the court other than Hannah, took Hannah's seat at the center of the bench in the Capitol complex courtroom.
"Chief Justice Hannah could not be present today but he will be participating," Danielson said.
He used nearly identical language at six more oral arguments without offering an explanation for the absences.
Little Rock defense attorney Patrick Benca was the first attorney to appear before the Supreme Court this year and find Hannah's seat taken by someone else.
Benca, who was helping an inmate appeal a murder conviction, said he doesn't know why Hannah was absent.
"I figured he had a conflict. Sometimes that happens," Benca said. "If he missed it, he had good reason to do so. He's an exemplary justice."
Ken Gallant, a professor of law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's W.H. Bowen School of Law, said judges are given a lot of leeway when it comes to structuring their workweek.
David Sachar, the director of the state's Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, said there is no rule regarding an appellate judge's attendance.
He said judicial regulations require judges to do their work "thoughtfully and efficiently," and if they don't, Sachar said he'd likely see a complaint filed with his office from an attorney or another judge.
"There is no 'Thou shalt be in the office for 40 hours a week' rule. Judges are required to do their job competently. That's what it comes down to," Sachar said. "They're not clock watchers.
The Arkansas Times, citing unnamed sources, reported on its blog Saturday that Hannah plans to retire Sept. 1 "on account of health problems that have slowed him in recent weeks."
Since then, Hannah has declined to publicly address the claim. Hannah's term on the court expires in 2016.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sought comment from all of Hannah's fellow justices as well as from their clerks and assistants.
Justice Rhonda Wood, who joined the court this year, was the only justice to return a call and said she hadn't heard anything from Hannah about stepping down early.
"As far as I'm aware, none of the justices have heard that from him or his staff," Wood said in an interview Monday.
Asked about Hannah's absences during recent oral arguments, Wood declined to discuss them.
"I've tried really hard not to speak about the other justices. I wouldn't want to comment about him, and the job, or the performance or anything like that," she said.
If Hannah steps down, Gov. Asa Hutchinson would appoint his replacement. A spokesman for Hutchinson said Thursday that Hannah has not informed the governor of any decision, and the governor would not discuss Hannah's health.
"There has been no submission of any letter of resignation," Hutchinson said in a statement. "And unless that happens, he continues as chief justice."
Hannah's absences from oral arguments began the same month he submitted a recusal letter to the court, one where he removed himself from a case related to the gay-marriage challenge and accused other members of the court of intentionally delaying a decision in the gay-marriage case.
Joined by Danielson, Hannah submitted a recusal letter April 8 in CV-15-227, a case that was started earlier in the year to determine whether Wood, or the special justice appointed by former Gov. Mike Beebe, should rule on the gay-marriage case.
"I believe that a majority of this court has created out of whole cloth an issue to delay the [gay-marriage ruling]," he said. "This court cannot by judicial fiat usurp the powers of the executive branch."
Eventually, the Supreme Court found that Wood, and not the justice picked by Beebe, Robert McCorkindale, should rule on whether a 2014 ruling that invalidated the state's same-sex marriage ban should stand.
On June 26, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down gay-marriage bans across the country, and the Arkansas court dismissed the longstanding legal question as "moot."
Metro on 08/07/2015