Judicial commission head resigns

Sachar to become director of national center for judicial ethics

LITTLE ROCK — David J. Sachar, executive director of the state’s Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, has resigned, effective April 1, to become the director of the National Center for State Courts’ Center for Judicial Ethics.

Sachar has worked with the commission since 2007 and served as its director since January 2013.

The National Center for State Courts’ Center for Judicial Ethics, located in Williamsburg, Va., is a national clearinghouse for information about judicial ethics and discipline.

Sachar will begin his new position on April 3 and succeed the center’s longtime director, Cynthia Gray, who will continue to provide an important supporting role, the National Center for State Courts said Friday in a news release.

Sachar’s appointment will build on the center’s existing work by expanding training opportunities for state judicial ethics staff and support for judges and court systems in other countries as part of the National Center for State Courts’ rule of law work.

“We know David Sachar will provide dynamic leadership in this expanding area of our work, both here in the United States and internationally,” Mary C. McQueen, president of the National Center for State Courts, said in the news release.

Sachar is a frequent presenter on judicial ethics and serves on the board of directors of the Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel and is a longtime advisory committee member for the Center for Judicial Ethics.

“Keeping fundamental promises to citizens, promoting the rule of law, and providing equality in the court system are hallmarks of the governments of free people,” Sachar said in the news release. “The work of the Center for Judicial Ethics can enhance our judiciary and others around the world.”

His legal career includes work as a prosecutor, litigator and special circuit court judge, and he also served as an adjunct law professor at the William H. Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

“I am excited to start this new adventure with the National Center for State Courts,” Sachar said Friday in a written statement to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

“This job gives me the chance to work with judicial systems all over the U.S and the world,” Sachar said. “Teaching and consulting on the rule of law and the importance of an independent judiciary has been a passion of mine. It was not easy for me to leave the JDDC after over fifteen years — but this position with NCSC is a perfect spot for me.”

The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission is a state constitutional agency created when voters adopted Amendment 66 to the Arkansas Constitution in November 1988, according to its website. The state Supreme Court has the power to suspend, remove or involuntarily retire or censure judges based on the commission’s recommendation. A judge may be publicly disciplined by the commission.

The commission investigates and may take disciplinary action or, in the most serious cases, recommend that the Supreme Court discipline a judge whose actions are found to be in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct, according to the commission website.

In order of increasing severity, the commission may make an informal adjustment, such as direct professional counseling or assistance for the judge; issue a public admonishment; or reprimand or censure the judge. The commission will make a recommendation to the Supreme Court if it finds stronger action is needed. The court may impose suspension, removal or involuntarily retirement.

In a letter dated Friday to commission Chairman Thomas Fowler of Jonesboro and other commissioners, Sachar said there was no way to encapsulate his 15 years at the commission in a short letter.

“Just know that it has been the highlight of my career to work with you and our staff,” Sachar wrote. “The commission has remained steadfast in its commitment to defending an independent judiciary while protecting the public from judicial misconduct.”

Balancing those goals is a difficult task, but one that has been done with passion and grace by “so many of you for over a decade and a half,” Sachar said in his letter.

Commission Deputy Executive Director Emily Abbott will take over as director, the commission said in its news release. The commission previously unanimously selected Abbott to take over upon Sachar’s departure.

Abbott has served as deputy executive director since 2018. She previously was an assistant attorney general and a deputy prosecuting attorney. She graduated from Sparkman High School in Dallas County, the University of Central Arkansas Schedler Honors College, and the UALR Law School.

Sachar’s annual salary with the commission is $ 129,124, according to the state’s transparency website. Abbott’s salary as deputy executive director is $101,174.