State v. Howard, 5670
| Decision Date | 06 December 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. 5670,5670 |
| Citation | 251 Ark. 551,473 S.W.2d 443 |
| Parties | STATE of Arkansas, Petitioner, v. James R. HOWARD, Respondent. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
James Guy Tucker, Pros. Atty., by Robert J. Brown, Deputy Pros. Atty., Little Rock, for petitioner.
Dale Price, Little Rock, for respondent.
This is an original proceeding brought in this court by James Guy Tucker, Prosecuting Attorney of the Sixth Judicial District of Arkansas, contending that the respondent, James R. Howard, was improperly and unconstitutionally elected as Special Judge of the Fourth Division of the Circuit Court of Pulaski County.
We granted a petition for certiorari on the allegations set out in the petition that the election of James R. Howard was illegal and void, in that the election was held without notice to the Prosecuting Attorney or members of the Bar in general; and that James R. Howard was attempting to assume the duties of circuit judge under special election without having taken the oath of office.
In his abstract and brief filed with this court the petitioner reiterates, by affidavit of Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Robert J. Brown, that he was an attorney in attendance on the court and that no notice of special election was given to him. The petitioner prays that the election of James R. Howard as Special Judge be quashed and all proceedings of said Division of the circuit court held while James R. Howard was presiding be held void. The petitioner concludes his petition as follows:
The trial court record is now before us and the entire record consists of what appears to be docket entries on the circuit court record for Thursday, October 28, 1971. The entire record is as follows:
On this day the Court notified the Clerk that he would be unable to preside in this Court on the afternoon of Thursday, October 28, 1971 and to elect a Special Judge, and members of the bar present were given notice of an election for Special Judge, set for 1:00 P.M., October 28th, 1971 who shall serve on said day and until he is lawfully succeeded.
Ordered that Court adjourn until 1:00 P.M. October 28, 1971, Thursday afternoon.
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1971
Thursday afternoon, October 28th, 1971 at 1:00 P.M., a regular day of the September Term of this Court, Hon. Richard B. Adkisson, presiding Judge of this Court being unable to preside over this Court at this time, and had so notified the Clerk, and the Clerk gave all members of the bar in attendance on said Court notice that an election for a Special Judge would at this time be held, and at 1:00 P.M. the said Clerk held said election in the Court house, at which election all the regular members of the bar present voted and James R. Howard, Esq., a regular member of the bar of this Court, having received the nomination for election for Special Judge and after receiving all the votes cast at said election and after a motion for election by unanimous vote, was by the Clerk declared carried, and James R. Howard, Esq., was by the Clerk declared unanimously elected Special Judge, and he takes the oath of office.
PULASKI CIRCUIT COURT FOURTH DIVISION SEPTEMBER TERM 1971
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1971
STATE OF ARKANSAS
COUNTY OF PULASKI SS
I, James R. Howard, do solemnly swear that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Arkansas, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of Special Judge of Pulaski Circuit Court, Fourth Division, upon which I am about to enter.
FOURTH DIV.
Subscribed and sworn to before me this 28th day of October, 1971.
CIRCUIT CLERK
By: /s/ James T. Reeder, Jr.
James T. Reeder, Jr.
Deputy Clerk
CLERK'S CERTIFICATE
STATE OF ARKANSAS
I, Roger McNair, Clerk of the Circuit Court, within and for the County and State aforesaid, hereby certify that the foregoing transcript contains a true and correct copy of the record entries in the election of Special Judge James R. Howard, on October 28, 1971.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand...
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...we hold it to be inapplicable. In so saying, we are not oblivious to the fact that this case was cited with approval in State v. Howard, 251 Ark. 551, 473 S.W.2d 443. It was fully applicable in Howard and correctly cited. Unlike the present attack, there was no attempt there to show the tru......
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American Civil Liberties Union v. State
...art. 7, § 4, to supervise lower courts, but nothing is said about supervision of an agency such as the commission); State v. Howard, 251 Ark. 551, 473 S.W.2d 443 (1971) (petition for certiorari granted to review allegations that the respondent was improperly and unconstitutionally elected a......