Judge facing complaint
Karren hit with judicial filing over dispute in lot, exits leadership role.
BENTONVILLE — Benton County Circuit Judge Brad Karren has received a copy of a complaint filed against him related to a confrontation last month between him and a former state legislator.
Karren, also this week, resigned from his judicial leadership role for Benton County’s seven circuit judges, though he remains a circuit judge.
Mark Henry, Karren’s attorney, said the Arkansas Judicial and Discipline Commission provided Karren with a short complaint containing the tweets of Davy Carter.
Carter, the speaker of the Arkansas House from 2013-15, and Karren were involved in a dispute over a parking spot in downtown Bentonville on April 30.
“Judge Karren respects that the conduct of judges should inspire public confidence in their integrity and competence,” Henry said.
David J. Sachar, the commission’s executive director, previously said he saw Carter’s tweets about the incident and filed the complaint against Karren.
“The citizens of Benton County understand Judge Karren presides over a criminal docket, including capital murder trials,” Henry said. “Judge Karren has been the target of credible death threats, and people have been jailed for soliciting his murder. It is therefore logical the entrance used by judges to a courthouse would have a 24/7 parking safety restriction. The 24/7 towing signs are posted over each specific parking space.”
Henry said Karren received an additional death threat after Carter’s social media posts.
“The safety and security of all judges in Arkansas is and should remain a significant concern,” Henry said.
Shannon Jenkins, a spokeswoman for the Benton County sheriff’s office, said the office is investigating a possible death threat against Karren posted on Twitter. No arrest has been made related to that investigation, she said.
Karren will respond to the complaint to present his understanding of the events, Henry said.
Karren sent a letter Monday to Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Kemp resigning as administrative judge for Benton County’s seven circuit judges. Karren was selected in January to serve as the administrative judge.
Karren states in his letter that his selection as administrative judge was a vote of confidence by his colleagues.
“I nonetheless believe it is reasonable for me to vacate the Administrative Law Judge position,” his letter states. “I do so because there is a pending investigation instituted by the Judicial Discipline and Disability involving my exchange with Attorney Davy Carter, which received publicity, both in the press and on Attorney Carter’s social media account.”
Karren said in the letter that he believes his decision to resign from the position is a reasonable step to preserve the public’s confidence in the integrity of the judiciary. He said it will allow him time to continue with his criminal docket.
“I take very seriously my confidentiality obligations flowing from all JDDC investigations, so I will not address the specifics of the allegations or my perspective in this email to you,” Karren states in his letter to Kemp.
Benton County Circuit Judge Tom Smith was selected Wednesday to replace Karren as administrative judge.
The administrative judge is an unpaid leadership position and has no authority over the other judges, Smith said.
The administrative judge is strongly involved in developing the circuit’s caseload plan that must be approved by the state Supreme Court every two years. The position also involves acting as a liaison with the Supreme Court for the local judiciary.
Smith said the resignation was Karren’s decision and Karren wasn’t forced to resign.
Karren, 58, remains a circuit judge, a position he’s held since 2013. He ran unopposed last year for a new six-year term that began in January.
Carter, 46, of Jonesboro posted on Twitter his account of the incident that his family had with Karren in a downtown Bentonville parking lot behind the judge’s courtroom.
Carter tweeted that he and his wife had dinner the night of April 30 at The Hive restaurant in the 21c Museum Hotel. They called their son, a University of Arkansas student, to join them.
Carter’s son arrived a little after 7 p.m. and parked in the lot between the hotel and the court building at 200 N.E. A St. The lot serves as parking for Karren, his staff and county employees.
A sign at the lot entrance states “Benton County employee parking only, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.” However, a sign in front of the spot where Carter’s son parked states, “Reserved parking 24/7 violators towed.”
Carter’s wife and son left the restaurant about 30 seconds before he did, according to Carter. He said he walked out and found an angry Karren berating his wife and son.
Carter said on Twitter that he intervened and cursed at Karren. Carter posted on Twitter a brief video of the encounter. The video shows Karren throwing his cane to the ground as he faced Carter.