City of Jacksonville v. Smith

The Supreme Court affirmed the order of the circuit court granting a preliminary inunction requested by Plaintiff, individually and on behalf of a class of similarly situated Arkansas taxpayers, holding that Geoffrey Herweg was ineligible to hold the appointed position of Jacksonville police chief because of his 2002 Texas misdemeanor conviction.In 2002, Herweg pleaded guilty to the offense of giving a false report to a police officer in a Texas court. In 2017, Herweg was appointed as the City of Jacksonville’s new police chief. Thereafter, Plaintiff filed a complaint for declaratory judgment, illegal exaction, and emergency temporary restraining order alleging that Herweg was ineligible to hold the office of police chief. The circuit court granted a preliminary injunction in Plaintiff’s favor. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) Plaintiff had standing in this action and presented a justiciable controversy; (2) article 5, section 9 of the Arkansas Constitution applies to both elected and appointed officials; (3) the office of chief of police constitutes an “office of trust” pursuant to article 5, section 9; (4) Herweg’s Texas conviction disqualified him from holding the office of the City’s police chief; and (5) the circuit court properly found that irreparable harm would result of Herweg were to remain in office in violation of article 5, section 9. View "City of Jacksonville v. Smith" on Justia Law