Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson has recused from hearing a case challenging plans to authorize up to three additional casinos in the state.
Goodson provided no explanation for her decision in a one-sentence letter sent Thursday to Chief Justice Howard Brill and her colleagues on the court. Her office did not comment Friday.
The case is a lawsuit filed by Bill Walmsley and former Arkansas Sheriffs' Association President Chuck Lange, both part of a group called the Committee to Protect Arkansas' Values/Stop Casinos Now, which is seeking to have stripped from the November ballot a proposed amendment to the Arkansas Constitution authorizing the casinos.
The suit challenges the ballot title of the amendment and alleges the sponsors for the petition failed to provide Secretary of State Mark Martin's office with adequate information about paid canvassers who collected signatures, thus invalidating the petitions already approved by Martin's office.
The backers of the amendment -- who also would control the licenses to the three casinos in Boone, Miller and Washington counties -- are Jim Thompson of Blue Eye, Mo., and Bob Womack of Branson.
Lange said in a statement earlier this week that his challenge to the amendment is being supported by Arkansas' two operating racetracks, Oaklawn Gaming and Racing in Hot Springs and Southland Park Gaming and Racing in West Memphis.
Both operate casinos under regulation of the Arkansas Racing Commission.
Financial-disclosure documents filed ahead of Goodson's unsuccessful bid for the chief justice position in March show that she reported income from thoroughbred racing through her husband, John Goodson.
John Goodson, a Texarkana attorney, received more than $12,500 in income from North Shore Thoroughbred Racing of New York in 2015, according to a disclosure statement his wife filed in January.
According to its website, North Shore Racing manages partnerships of investors who collectively own groups of four to six horses.
Arkansas' judicial rules require judges to recuse if they have an economic interest in the case. Campaign contributions do not immediately disqualify a judge from hearing a case, though the rules say the size of a donation may raise questions of a judge's impartiality.
As of Friday, Goodson is the only justice to recuse in any of the six lawsuits filed in the Supreme Court challenging ballot amendments and initiatives. Goodson has not recused in any of the other cases.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson has the authority to appoint a temporary judge to fill in for Goodson.
Metro on 09/10/2016