The Arkansas Supreme Court and chief justice are in a power struggle over who can fire officials

By ANDREW DeMILLO The Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas’ Supreme Court and its chief justice are publicly feuding, days after she was sworn into office, over who has the authority to fire the court’s top officials.

Chief Justice Karen Baker on Wednesday voided an order five members of the seven-justice court issued last week blocking her attempts to fire several top officials. Baker, who was sworn in on Jan. 1, accused the majority of trying to usurp her power.

“The constitutional office of the Chief Justice is an elected position for a reason,” Baker wrote. “I am the people’s choice for Chief Justice — not any of the associate justices, whether together or separate.”

The court’s five-member majority on Wednesday night dismissed the order, saying it had no legal impact.

“We respect our colleague’s right, like any other justice, to issue a dissent, and we note that it has no legal effect beyond that of a dissenting opinion,” the justices said in a written statement.

The court’s conservative majority last week issued an order reversing Baker’s attempts to fire the head of the Administrative Office of the Courts and several other officials, including the court’s police chief. The court said the AOC director’s hiring and firing required the support of at least four members of the seven-member court.

Baker and Justice Courtney Goodson did not participate in the court’s order on Friday.

Baker said the move went against an earlier order issued by her predecessor, former Chief Justice Dan Kemp, issued in 2017. State law gives the chief justice power to nominate the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, who serves at the pleasure of the court.

Baker questioned the legality an eight-year contract AOC Director Marty Sullivan entered into with the the court, and said he would have had to resign his position to enter into the contract.

Baker’s order did not give reasons for why she wanted to fire Sullivan and the other court officials.

The chief justice and the court are also wrangling over who has the power to appoint members of the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, the panel that investigates and sanctions judges. The court’s majority on Monday reappointed two members of the court and appointed another, saying she tried to unilaterally appoint three other members.

Baker said in Wednesday’s order that she objected to one of the appointments who she claimed is biased against her. The chief justice did not elaborate on why she believes he’s biased.

The court’s seats are technically nonpartisan, though Republican-backed justices hold five of the seven court seats. Baker defeated Justice Rhonda Wood in a November runoff after a March election that also included Justice Barbara Webb.

“Notwithstanding the will of the people in selecting me to serve in this position, two of my opponents in the Chief Justice race that remain on the court are now attempting to take what the people would not give them by force,” Baker wrote.

Baker and Wood were on opposite sides of a ruling the court issued last year blocking an abortion-rights measure from the November ballot. Wood wrote the court’s majority opinion upholding election officials’ decision to reject petitions for the measure, while Baker wrote a blistering dissent criticizing the court’s ruling.