The Arkansas Supreme Court of Thursday upheld the decision of a Pulaski County Circuit Judge who denied a motion calling for a candidate for Arkansas House District 94 to be deemed ineligible to run for office because of a hot check conviction.
District 94 includes parts of Bradley, Drew and Desha Counties.
John Kyle Day of Drew County is a candidate for that seat and alleged that his opponent, Laura “Missy” Michael Wardlaw is not eligible to run for the position. He alleged that Wardlaw was found guilty of an infamous crime, violating the Arkansas Hot Check Law in 2018.
Day named the Board of Election Commissioners of Bradley, Desha and Drew Counties, the Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester, the Republican Party of Arkansas and the Secretary of the State Committee of the Republican Party.
During a court hearing in January, records were introduced showing that Wardlaw had posed a bond of $393.98 to cover the check and court costs and the chief clerk of the Clark County District Court, where the check was written, testified that records showed that Wardlaw chose to pay her fine rather than come to court.
She compared the situation to paying a speeding ticket in lieu of coming to court – “you just pay a fine and you’re done with it.”
She also testified that a court appearance is not mandatory for a hot check violation.
Following a court hearing in January, Judge Cathleen Compton ruled that a bond forfeiture is not an admission of guilt and that Wardlaw had not been convicted of an infamous crime nor had she pled guilty or no contest of a public trust crime as defined by state law.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court said Day failed to prove that Wardlaw had been convicted of an infamous crime as defined by state law and had not pleaded guilty, pleaded no contest or was found guilty of a public trust crime.
