A Pulaski County circuit judge temporarily blocked the release of emails between an Arkansas Supreme Court justice and a former court employee on Friday, September 6, 2024.
Mark Friedman, a senior editor at Arkansas Business, filed a Freedom of Information Act FOIA request last month. He asked the Administrative Office of the Courts AOC and the Office of Professional Conduct OPC for all communications after January 2023 between former OPC director Lisa Ballard and others, including Justice Hudson.
Earlier this year, Ballard, along with two other employees, left the OPC. Her personnel file, obtained through an FOIA request by the Advocate in May, did not mention a resignation letter or provide a reason for her departure.
In a complaint filed Friday, Justice Hudson argued that, as the custodian of the requested emails, she, not the AOC, should handle the FOIA request. The complaint stated that under FOIA rules, only Hudson has the authority to respond to the request.
Charlene Fleetwood, the acting director of the OPC, planned to tell Friedman that the records were exempt from the FOIA. However, five of Hudson’s fellow justices overruled her, stating that the records should be released.
Hudson’s complaint argues that these five justices are not custodians of the documents and lack the authority to release them under FOIA rules. She claims their decision bypassed her rights.
Additionally, Hudson criticized the justices’ decision, saying it was improper because the Court ruled on a legal issue without jurisdiction and without any pending appeal. As a result, their decision would not be included in any official Court opinion.
Circuit Judge Patricia James granted a preliminary injunction in Hudson’s favor, delaying the release of the documents until a hearing can be held to decide whether a permanent injunction should be issued.
Defendants in the case include Charlene Fleetwood, AOC Executive Director Marty Sullivan, the AOC, and the OPC.