Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Karen Baker (right) chats with House Judiciary Committee members (from left) Chairwoman Rep. Carol Dalby, R-Texarkana, and Reps. Ashley Hudson and Tippi McCullough, both Little Rock Democrats, on Thursday, January 30, 2025. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate)
Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Karen Baker addressed the House Judiciary Committee at its Thursday meeting, noting that her time as chief was “off to a little bit of a rough start” and reiterating her position about the scope of her authority.
Baker has been on the court since 2011 and was sworn in as Arkansas’ first elected female chief justice Jan. 1. Throughout this month, she and five associate justices have publicly butted heads and attempted to override each other’s conflicting decisions.
“There are differences of opinion about whether I have the same authority that chief justices have always had in Arkansas, and I am unwilling to accept that I don’t have the same authority to hire the Administrative Office of the Courts executive director, which is the area of contention,” Baker told lawmakers. “If we can’t work that out, we’ll probably be litigating that issue.”
On Jan. 3, Baker attempted to fire 10 AOC staff, including Director Marty Sullivan. The remainder of the court, with the exception of Associate Justice Courtney Hudson, declared in a per curiam order that Baker could not make this decision unilaterally.
Some AOC employees, including the director, cannot be terminated without approval from at least four of the Supreme Court’s seven members, the five justices stated. Other workers cannot be fired without the AOC director’s approval, which Sullivan did not give. He defended his staff in a letter to Baker criticizing her attempt to fire them.
A Jan. 6 order from the same five justices said Baker could not unilaterally appoint three new members to the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, which investigates complaints about the conduct of judges and the justices. Baker issued the three attempted appointments within half an hour of being sworn in as chief justice.
Arkansas Supreme Court justices spar with chief justice over her authority in rare public meeting
On Jan. 8, Baker issued an administrative order declaring both per curiam orders invalid, citing Arkansas Constitutional Amendment 80, which states in Section 4: “The Supreme Court shall exercise general superintending control over all courts of the state… These functions shall be administered by the Chief Justice.”
She also cited a state statute that says the chief justice is “directly responsible for the efficient operation of the judicial branch and of its constituent courts and for the expeditious dispatch of litigation therein and the proper conduct of the business of the courts.”
Baker reiterated her stance on the matter last week in a rare public Supreme Court business meeting and again Thursday.
House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Rep. Carol Dalby, R-Texarkana, said the chief justice’s appearance before the committee was customary for the start of every legislative session. Baker was scheduled to appear before the committee on Jan. 21 but had a scheduling conflict.
Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, was the only committee member to ask Baker a question. He asked what he should tell his constituents who want to know how the court can “get back on track” from the ongoing dispute.
“It’s my duty to see to the administration of justice, and it’s difficult to be able to do that right now without being able to hire the [AOC] executive director,” Baker replied.
She said AOC’s expenses have “gone up markedly” and she is “looking at budgets trying to figure out exactly where those increases are.”
She also said previous chief justices have “all hired who they wanted” for AOC director.
The Supreme Court has had eight chief justices and two AOC directors since 1988; J.D. Gingerich was appointed AOC director that year and retired in 2017. Baker’s predecessor, Chief Justice John Dan Kemp, appointed Sullivan.
Kemp, who did not run for reelection last year, claimed in a signed 2017 memo that a majority of the court could not vote to “exercise control over administrative matters” because this would “impair the constitutional authority of the Chief Justice.” He said any such majority vote would be null and void.
Baker used the memo as a basis for her administrative authority in a Jan. 7 email to judiciary staff. Supreme Court Clerk Kyle Burton confirmed the memo was never filed in the clerk’s office as Kemp said he intended.
The Supreme Court has not issued decisions in cases since early December. Baker told the House Judiciary Committee this is partly because Associate Justice Nicholas Bronni, who was sworn in Jan. 1 after being appointed Dec. 20, has had to recuse himself from every criminal case before the court. Bronni had been the state’s solicitor general since 2018.