Griffen hearing put off until ’19
Investigator in ethics case called away on military orders
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen’s final hearing over ethics charges stemming from his 2017 protest of the death penalty will be delayed until next year, the state’s judicial watchdog commission said Friday.
Griffen, who was formally charged in June with violating Arkansas’ judicial canons, has fought unsuccessfully to have the case against him dismissed. He argues that his protest — in which he appeared to be strapped to a cot in front of the Governor’s Mansion on Good Friday 2017 — is protected by religious and free-speech rights.
Originally set for a hearing Oct. 5, the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission decided on a postponement Friday because the special counselor who was investigating Griffen received military orders that will make her unavailable until February 2019.
The commission voted to delay the hearing until March 22.
In addition, the commission made the decision to seek an additional attorney from Arkansas to serve as co-counsel in the meantime.
The attorney who was called away on military orders, Rachel Michel, works for the Mississippi Commission of Judicial Performance, which operates in a similar manner to Arkansas’ judicial commission.
“Our only comment is that we wish we had been given notice by Ms. Michel sooner,” said Michael Laux, Griffen’s attorney, in an email Friday. “That said, we wish her the best with her military activities.”
Griffen filed a countercomplaint against the seven justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court, alleging that they improperly and hastily moved to strip the circuit court judge of his ability to hear all cases involving the death penalty after his protest.
An entirely separate case has arisen out of that complaint. The commission on Thursday found probable cause in Griffen’s allegations and filed charges alleging violations of judicial canons and rules of judicial conduct by six of the seven members of the state Supreme Court.
The justices have 30 days to respond to the charges. During their meeting Friday morning, the commissioners decided that without a response, there was no action to take in the cases involving the justices.
The dueling complaints against Griffen and the Supreme Court justices led to the group began hearing reports of a number of immigration arrests — particularly in Batesville — from Jonesboro-area organizers earlier in the week.
Reith said in telephone interviews that the group was still trying to clarify exactly what had happened in Batesville, and described an atmosphere of growing concern about enforcement in immigrant communities across the state.
“[There’s been] absolute panic, to the point that individuals are afraid to even share their stories to anyone else besides us,” she said. “[We hear about] individuals describing not leaving their house, not letting their kids go to school out of fear.”
Reached for comment Thursday, Batesville Mayor Rick Elumbaugh said he didn’t yet know enough about the investigation to make a statement but that he had been informed federal immigration authorities would be in town.
Cox did not know specifically where the 15 individuals were being detained, but said people arrested on immigration offenses in Arkansas generally are transported to detention facilities in Louisiana. They also can be located by name on a page on the Department of Homeland Security’s website: locator.ice.gov.
The Lonoke Police Department — which Police Chief Randy Mauk said serves as a temporary holding facility for immigration authorities in central Arkansas — had 19 people in custody on immigration offenses Friday morning. They had arrived Tuesday and Wednesday, though Mauk did not have details on whether they were being held in connection with this both of the commission’s fulltime attorneys recusing in 2017. In their place, the commission appointed Michel and J. Brent Standridge, an attorney from Benton, to investigate the claims.
Both Standridge and Michel agreed to work pro bono for the commission, with up to $4,000 in expenses paid for.
Earlier on the day that Griffen appeared at the protest at the Governor’s Mansion, he issued an order that temporarily brought to a halt the state’s plans to carry out a series of executions.
The Supreme Court overturned Griffen’s order, as well as an identical ruling that came from Pulaski County Circuit Judge Alice Gray. Both Gray and Griffen had ruled that the state could not use vecuronium bromide, one of the three drugs in its execution protocol, after its manufacturer raised objections and accused the state of fraudulently acquiring the drug.
The state carried out four of the executions scheduled for April 2017. investigation.
The latest immigration arrests follow an incident last week in Alma in which 28 people were detained by immigration authorities during the course of an undisclosed criminal investigation at the Bryant Preserving Co. food processing plant.
In July, a dozen people were charged with immigration offenses during an Alcoholic Beverage Control raid meant to target suspected human trafficking at a Hispanic nightclub.
Arkansas United has charted an uptick in reports about Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the state since May of this year — the most it has heard since 2010-2011, Reith said.
Cox disputed the notion of stepped-up enforcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the state, which is policed by several hundred immigration agents who work in a five-state region that comprises Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee.
“This is what this agency does every day. … Any question as to whether there is a particular focus on Arkansas, as opposed to elsewhere, is not accurate,” he said.
Reith said she planned to travel to Batesville over the weekend to learn more about the arrests. She said there are plans to have an Arkansas United staff attorney work with the affected families and to host a “know your rights” forum in the area.
Immigrants with legal status should always carry their documents, such as a green card, with them, University of Arkansas School of Law Immigration Clinic Director Beth Zilberman said.
She also noted that people who have been arrested on immigration offenses do have some rights. They have a right to an attorney, though an attorney does not have to be provided for them. They also have the same property rights as citizens, in that immigration authorities are not empowered to enter their home without invitation or a warrant.
Reith said apprehensions about enforcement aren’t limited to people without legal immigration status. She said many people were alarmed by the high priority the White House has placed on immigration policy, adding that even those who are “just going about daily routines, being Hispanic in Arkansas” have felt as though they may be at risk of being targeted.
“It is creating chaos and havoc, and we’re gravely concerned,” she said. “At this time, our community is very hesitant to do anything with law enforcement anywhere.”