Circuit judges are elected officials.
They are attorneys who run in non-partisan elections. If they are elected, they serve six-year terms, and many times they are re-elected again and again.
That was the case with Seventh Judicial Circuit Judge Chris Williams, 69, who has presided over cases in Hot Spring and Grant counties for 20 years.
The Arkansas Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission (JDDC) announced Williams’ resignation in a news release on Thursday.
His resignation is effective March 30 and serves as a removal from office.
The JDDC also stated Williams is no longer eligible to be elected, appointed or serve in the judiciary in Arkansas because of the result of judicial misconduct. Williams also agreed that he will not seek or accept appointment to any other public office.
Why?
The investigation by JDDC centered around four resolved cases in which investigations “involved allegations of judicial misconduct.” Those led to Williams’ resignation. Williams was accused of judicial misconduct related to rules of the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct.
It's unlikely those four cases will ever be revealed because of the confidentiality of the investigation into Williams by the JDDC.
However, the JDDC press release about Williams states that the investigation about Williams, and the four cases may center on the first three canons of the Code of Judicial Ethics.
How common is the Williams’ resignation?
An examination of JDDC's website under “Commission Final Actions” shows such cases dating back to the Commission's origins in 1990 when Bill Clinton was governor.
The website states, “On May 14, 1990 the Supreme Court eliminated a private reprimand as a possible sanction that could be imposed by the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission. Prior to that date, the Commission issued private reprimands to three (3) separate judges.”
Since 1990, nearly 100 judges have received some sort of disciplinary actions letters of reprimand, admonishments and censures, orders of suspension to full-blown removal from office. Some judges have received letters of sanction and recommendation of suspension without pay.
Over the years, some judges have pushed the envelope and received repeated warnings and punishments. Williams had not but he now joins a group that lawyer imagines joining while he or she is in law school.
The first judge to leave office was Terry Diggs, according to the website.
In 1993, David Hale, a judge who got caught up in the Whitewater scandal during Clinton's presidency, resigned while under investigation.
But not every judge in 1990s faced JDDC issues were Whitewater connected.
Read more actions by the JDDC since 1990 here.
More recent times
Last year, the JDDC sent letters to two judges — Judge Ralph Ohm and Judge Chaney Taylor.
Ohm, a Garland County judge, received a letter of informal judgment. He is still on the bench. The JDDC sent Taylor, a Batesville judge for 19 years, a letter of admonishment. He is still a judge.
In 2022, three judges received letters.
Judge Brad Karren received a 14-page letter of censure and remedial measures on Jan. 21, 2022. Karren also received a letter of reprimand in 2011. He is still in office in Benton County.
The 14-page letter cited a confrontation between Karren and three other people, including Davy Carter, former speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives, over a parking spot reserved for Karren.
The JDDC ordered these remedial actions:
Many judges receive similar remedial actions.
In August 2022, Pope County Judge Don Bourne received a “Letter of Censure and Recommendation of Suspension without Pay.” That letter was 14-pages, too.
Here are two pages that describe his actions.
Bourne announced his retirement in Jan. 2023 after he faced another JDDC investigation with the JDDC receiving complaints just days after Bourne returned to the bench.
On Sept. 29, 2022, Judge Robin Carroll of El Dorado received an 18-page “Letter of Sanction and Recommendation of Suspension without Pay.”
Carroll faced judicial misconduct.
He also attempted to exert improper influence over Arkansas Game and Fish cases in other courts. The JDDC also cited Carroll's “competence and diligence.”
Carroll resigned in November 2022.
Back to Williams
Depending on negotiations between a judge and the JDDC depends on how much is revealed from an investigation.
Williams served one year as the JDDC's chairman.
Because of Williams’ resignation, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Sanders will choose his replacement.
