JONESBORO, Ark. – The remaining judges handling circuit court cases in Craighead County recused themselves on Thursday from the lawsuit filed by Rachel Anderson against the City of Jonesboro, the mayor, and the police chief.
A special judge will now be assigned to the case by the Administrative Office of the Arkansas Supreme Court, confirmed the circuit clerk who spoke to NEA Report regarding the process.
NEA Report spoke to Craighead County Circuit Clerk David Vaughn on Thursday (Jan. 4) about the recusals. All twelve judges who hear cases in Craighead County’s circuit court stepped aside from the case. He said he wasn’t entirely surprised.
He said the judges have to be impartial and in cases that involve high-profile defendants or multiple defendants, a wave of recusals isn’t unheard of. Every judge that hears cases in Craighead County recusing wasn’t something that happens everyday, but Vaughn said it does happen.
Vaughn said the next step is for the clerk’s office to request a special judge be appointed to the case by the Arkansas Supreme Court.
“And it doesn’t take them long to find who to appoint,” Vaughn added. “We’ve had a few in the last year appointed to different cases. Usually, anything we have with a big name in town or several people in town who are well known, our judges may recuse on it. We will run it through the whole gambit of [judges] and when the last one has recused, we will submit a request to the Administrative Office of the Supreme Court and the chief justice will actually appoint someone to sit on the case.”
Once that appointment is made, Vaughn said the case will move forward. The special judge that is chosen will be selected ensuring that he or she does not recuse.
The case is still awaiting a decision on a preliminary injunction request sought by Anderson to force a name-clearing hearing with the city.
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I am praying for her I pray that she wins the case
The judges, in my option , done the right thing in choosing to recuse themselves. That’s understandable.
I hope everyone comes out of this with a
Solution that everyone is satisfied.
It’s a stressful situation at a time when we need a rest from everything that’s happening all over the world. Our justice system is there for us at times like this. Pray it turns out that everyone feels good about themselves when it’s over.
I’m so sick of the power hungry politicians and bureaucrats. The arrogance of these power hungry people is sickening. I’m an out of stater. I have to admit that I’ve had an opinion that Arkansas was a friendly, just place. I now see how wrong I am. They are no different than the East/West coast states.