Current:Home > BackJudge blocks Arkansas law that took away board’s ability to fire state corrections secretary-LoTradeCoin
Judge blocks Arkansas law that took away board’s ability to fire state corrections secretary
View Date:2024-12-24 08:29:36
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas judge on Friday blocked a new law that took away the Board of Corrections’ authority over the state corrections secretary and other top officials, the latest in an escalating feud between the panel and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders over the prison system.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Patricia James granted the board’s request for a temporary restraining order the day after the panel filed a lawsuit and suspended Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri with pay.
The board argued that the law violated the state’s constitution by usurping its authority and giving the governor hiring and firing authority over the corrections secretary. Sanders appointed Profiri to the post, and he was confirmed by the panel earlier this year.
The move follows the Sanders’ administration’s plans to move forward with opening hundreds of new temporary prison beds that the board had not approved. Members of the board have said opening the temporary beds would jeopardize the safety of inmates and staff.
Arkansas’ prisons are currently above capacity, with more than 1,600 additional state inmates being held in county jails.
“Absent relief, (the board) will suffer immediate and irreparable harm because Defendants caused additional beds to be added to inadequate prison facilities,” James wrote. The law blocked by James also would have given Profiri, not the board, hiring and firing authority over the correction and community correction divisions.
James set a Dec. 28 hearing over the lawsuit. Attorney General Tim Griffin was reviewing the order and preparing a response, a spokesman said.
Alexa Henning, a spokeswoman for Sanders, said the governor would work with Griffin to “respond appropriately in court, end the policy of catch and early release of dangerous criminals, and defend the safety of Arkansans.”
The ruling came the same day Griffin filed a lawsuit against the board, accusing it of violating the state’s Freedom of Information Act when it approved hiring an outside attorney to represent it. Griffin’s lawsuit also claims the board did not follow the law in its response to an FOI request he sent over the attorney’s hiring.
“The Board of Corrections has shown a complete disregard for the law, so I am asking the court to step in to compel compliance,” Griffin, a Republican, said in a news release.
Abtin Mehdizadegan, the board’s attorney, said the panel followed the FOI law and criticized Griffin’s lawsuit.
“This appears to me to be political retribution and abject weaponization of the attorney general’s office to effect that political retribution,” Mehdizadegan said.
veryGood! (473)
Related
- Nearly 80,000 pounds of Costco butter recalled for missing 'Contains Milk statement': FDA
- Kathy Bates Announces Plans to Retire After Acting for More Than 50 Years
- Nicole Kidman misses Venice best actress win after mom's death: 'I'm in shock'
- I'm a retired Kansas grocer. Big-box dollar stores moved into town and killed my business.
- Steelers' Mike Tomlin shuts down Jayden Daniels Lamar comparison: 'That's Mr. Jackson'
- Google antitrust trial over online advertising set to begin
- Why Amy Adams Invites Criticism for Nightb--ch Movie
- 'The Room Next Door' wins Venice Film Festival's Golden Lion for best picture
- Quincy Jones' Cause of Death Revealed
- Powerball winning numbers for September 7: Jackpot climbs to $112 million
Ranking
- Five best fits for Alex Bregman: Will Astros homegrown star leave as free agent?
- Kathy Bates Announces Plans to Retire After Acting for More Than 50 Years
- Jewish students have a right to feel safe. Universities can't let them down again.
- Trader Joe's viral mini tote bags returning soon
- Jessica Simpson’s Sister Ashlee Simpson Addresses Eric Johnson Breakup Speculation
- Why Paris Hilton Doesn’t Want Her Kids to Be Famous
- JoJo Siwa Is a Literal Furball in Jaw-Dropping New York Fashion Week Look
- Horoscopes Today, September 8, 2024
Recommendation
-
Get well, Pop. The Spurs are in great hands until your return
-
Four die in a small plane crash in Vermont
-
The Mormon church’s president, already the oldest in the faith’s history, is turning 100
-
Jessica Hagedorn, R.F. Kuang among winners of American Book Awards, which celebrate multiculturalism
-
Caitlin Clark's gold Nike golf shoes turn heads at The Annika LPGA pro-am
-
Roblox set to launch paid videogames on its virtual platform
-
The uproar around Francis Ford Coppola's ‘Megalopolis’ movie explained
-
Justin Fields hasn't sparked a Steelers QB controversy just yet – but stay tuned