Justia Arkansas Supreme Court Opinion Summaries

Articles Posted in Election Law
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Petitioners, individually and on behalf of Coalition to Preserve Arkansas Values (CPAV), brought this original action requesting the Supreme Court to review the legal sufficiency of the popular name and ballot title of the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act. CPAV requested the Court to declare the popular name and ballot legally insufficient and hold that, if enacted, the Act would conflict with the state and federal constitutions and would violate state and federal law. CPAV further asked the Court to remove the Act from the November 6, 2012 ballot. The Supreme Court denied the petition, holding that the Act's popular name and ballot title were legally sufficient, and therefore, the Act was proper for the inclusion on the ballot at the general election on November 6, 2012. View "Cox v. Martin" on Justia Law

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Petitioner brought an original action seeking a writ of mandamus requiring the Secretary of State to accept its petitions for an initiated constitutional amendment to be placed on the November 6, 2012 ballot. Petitioner sought the writ of mandamus against the Secretary, requiring him to accept Petitioner's petition as timely filed containing, prima facie, the required number of signatures for an initiated constitutional amendment, and further ordering the Secretary to permit Petitioner thirty days to cure any shortcomings in its petition. The Supreme Court denied Petitioner's petition, holding (1) Petitioner had standing to invoke the Court's jurisdiction; but (2) Petitioner failed to submit a facially valid petition and did not qualify for the additional thirty days to cure deficiencies. View "Ark. Hotels & Entm't Inc. v. Martin" on Justia Law

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Appellants filed a complaint against Appellees, the public school district, members of the district's board of directors, and others, alleging (1) subsequent to the federal decennial census, the district was required to adopt new district lines and the district had failed to do so in violation of Ark. Code Ann. 6-13-631; and (2) the voters were entitled to a new school board pursuant to section 6-13-631. The circuit court found in favor of Appellants. Appellants subsequently filed a motion for payment of prevailing-party attorneys' fees, which was denied. Appellants appealed, arguing that the circuit court' findings were equivalent to a finding that there had been a violation of the Arkansas Civil Rights Act and that, because the circuit court could have awarded attorneys' fees pursuant to the Act, Appellants were entitled to attorneys fees. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that Appellants did not prevail on anything other than the claim made pursuant to section 6-13-631, and because that statute does not provide for an award of attorneys' fees, the circuit court did not abuse its discretion in denying the same. View "Fluker v. Helena-West Helena Pub. Sch. Dist." on Justia Law

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In a run-off election, Steve Jernigan was elected major of the City of Lepanto. A month later, the State filed a petition for writ of quo warranto, seeking to prevent the usurpation of the office of mayor of the City on the grounds that Jernigan did not reside within the City as required by Ark. Code Ann. 14-42-201(c)(1). After a hearing, the circuit court denied the State's petition. The State appealed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the circuit court did not clearly err in finding that the State failed to meet its burden of proving that Jernigan did not reside within the City limits.

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Appellant Keith Hamaker filed an amendment complaint in the circuit court challenging the Pulaski County Election Commission procedures. After the circuit court entered an order making specific findings and rulings, Hamaker appealed, contending (1) the Commission had no right to allow a voting area undefined by election law, (2) the Commission should be required to force a voter to vote within the confines of a voting booth, (3) a voter does not have the right to vote outside the immediate voting area pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. 7-5-309(a)(4), and (4) section 7-5-309 as amended should be declared unconstitutional. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) under section 7-5-309 the Commission is not required to force a voter to prepare his or her ballot in a voting booth, (2) section 7-5-309(a)(4) does not state that a voter may not mark a ballot outside of the immediate voting area, and (3) Appellant's remaining arguments were either inappropriate for appellate review or not preserved for appellate review.

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Appellant Larry Wilson and seventeen other citizens of Philips County challenged the November 2, 2010 election results for several positions on the Helena-West City Council. The Supreme Court found that the complaint contesting the election results was not filed within twenty days of the election as required by statute. Therefore, the Court dismissed the case for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.

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Appellee Michael Grulkey sought to have Appellant Thomas Fite disqualified to run as an electoral candidate to the General Assembly. In July, 2010, the Arkansas Republican Party certified Fite as its candidate for the eighty-third district for the November 2, 2010 election. Grulkey, a registered voter in that district, petitioned the circuit court for a writ of mandamus or declaratory judgment, alleging that Fite was ineligible to hold office because of a prior conviction in 1984 for Medicaid bribery. The court ruled that Fiteâs conviction rendered him ineligible to run for office, and entered the order on October 27, 2010. Appellant appealed the order on November 4, 2010 - two days after the election - and filed a motion to the Supreme Court to expedite review on November 23, 2010. Seeing no need to proceed, the Court dismissed the case citing that any review of a candidateâs eligibility becomes moot once an election has taken place.