The power to determine who is in charge of Arkansas prisons lies with the Board of Corrections, not Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Pulaski County Judge Patricia James determined in a new ruling.
In her ruling, James found that two new Arkansas laws, Acts 185 and 659, which said that the Arkansas Governor could decide who runs the Department of Corrections and that those leaders ultimately work for the Governor, were unconstitutional.
Specifically, James found that these laws violate Amendment 33 of the Arkansas Constitution, which says that the “powers vested” in boards “charged with the management or control of all charitable, penal or correctional institutions” “shall not be transferred” unless the whole system is abolished or reorganized.
In other words, Amendment 33 protects institutions like the Board of Corrections from having their authority usurped by the Arkansas Governor.
“By redirecting the chain of supervision such that the Secretary serves at the pleasure of the Governor and the division directors serve at the pleasure of the Secretary, Acts 185 and 659 transfer powers vested in the Board—namely, the Board’s direct supervisory and removal authority over those positions and its constitutional ability to implement policy through those officers,” James’ judgment states. “That transfer contravenes the plain text of Amendment 33.”
The ruling also determined that the Board of Corrections is allowed to hire and pay its own lawyers to defend itself. This comes after Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a motion seeking the dismissal of the Board of Corrections’ attorney.
