Other days

100 YEARS AGO

April 10, 1924

▪ Governor McRae yesterday vetoed the bill repealing the pistol registration law and signed eight Senate measures and one House measure, clearing the legislative docket of all but the bill repealing the Riggs income tax law, which he has announced he will veto, and the supplemental appropriation bill for $80,000 for Confederate pensions. The latter will probably be signed. Veto of the pistol registration repeal is the second by Governor McRae, who declared the action was demanded by his duty toward law enforcement. He declared that he believes that the law has not been enforced properly, and that the lax enforcement has been responsible for considerable crime.

50 YEARS AGO

April 10, 1974

▪ A massive development of 750 condominium apartments, two hotels, a marina, 100 shops and varied recreational facilities along the Arkansas River bank between the Main Street and Broadway Bridges was proposed Tuesday to the North Little Rock Urban Renewal Commission. … The Commission was delighted with the proposal because it conformed to over-all redevelopment plans for the area. The Commission voted to make a decision in 30 days. That would allow other potential developers to present their plans for the area.

25 YEARS AGO

April 10, 1999

▪ A state Department of Correction inmate who died March 9 after being sprayed with pepper spray had numerous physical problems, including asthma, sickle cell trait, and inflammation of the heart muscle and adrenal glands, an autopsy report concluded. Eddie Bagby, 24, collapsed on his first day at the Wrightsville Boot Camp. He died hours later at Southwest Hospital in Little Rock. “In summary, several different variables were present, which in combination, produced the death of this individual,” associate medical examiner Dr. Stephen Erickson wrote in the autopsy report. The Department of Correction is conducting a pair of investigations into Bagby’s death, and the Arkansas State Police are conducting a separate criminal investigation.

10 YEARS AGO

April 10, 2014

▪ A court rule that suspends Arkansas lawyers who don’t pay their bar dues on time is unconstitutional, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen ruled on Wednesday as he rejected a challenge to the credentials of a Conway attorney running for judge. Griffen had to decide three issues in a hurry: Did lawyer Angela Byrd lose her eligibility to seek a circuit judgeship because she paid her $200 licensing fee 36 hours late this year? Can a lawyer be suspended for not paying dues on time without having a chance to contest the sanction? Is the suspension of a law license the same thing as suspending an attorney’s authority to practice law? The answer to all those questions is no, Griffen concluded after a day-long hearing. He ruled that Byrd, licensed since 1992, is a qualified candidate for the post she is seeking and a lawyer’s license cannot be suspended without a hearing.