Law in Arkansas that bans removed judges from running again ruled unconstitutional

May 4, 2010

Arkansas: The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled on Friday, April 30, that a law enacted in 2009 which prevented judges who had been removed from the bench from running for re-election. Former Pulaski County Circuit Judge Willard Proctor had challenged the law in a bid to once again run for office after he was removed earlier this year by the state Supreme Court. Though he won the case in arguing that the law was unconstitutional because it essentially added requirements for holding public office that exceeded those set by the state constitution, the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed a lower courts decision to not count any votes cast for Procter.

The court issued the ruling saying, "Because the section 16-10-410(d) encroaches on power reserved to the judiciary to interpret the law, and imposes an additional qualification, we declare the statute unconstitutional."

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