JaNan Arnold Davis, a candidate for District Judge in Little Rock apparently has problems following the rules much like another candidate for the position does.
Davis often cites her "experience" filling in for judges in district court that she has close friendships with.
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She claims that she is "the only candidate that continues to serve as a special judge in multiple courts".
Well, two of her opponents have full-time jobs working in the public sector, Melanie Martin is a Prosecuting Attorney and Peggy Egan is a Public Defender.
They don't have the time as Davis apparently does to fill in in the absence of a sitting judge due to illness or a vacation or whatever, and it would be a potential conflict of interest for them to act in that capacity. Moreover, their respective employers more than likely prohibit them from doing so.
And the remaining candidate, Latonya Laird Austin-Honorable is often a defendant in these courts and that is another problem altogether. So is her non-payment of state income taxes which have resulted in liens being filed against her by the Department of Finance and Administration.
Davis credits her employer, Rainwater, Holt and with giving her the time to run for office and support her.
Apparently it is not a problem for them as according to the online case system she has not handled very many cases in the last few years.
No doubt the law firm would like to have a friendly judge sitting on the bench, no matter what court it is.
Davis appears to be in violation of certain rules regarding conduct during judicial campaigns.
We are waiting on a response from the Arkansas Judicial Disciplinary and Disability Commission concerning Davis' use of the photo's in judicial garb and the nameplate she totes with her when she is a substitute judge for a day.
Stay tuned for updates.
***UPDATE***
Matt Campbell on his Blue Hog Report posted about Davis' shenanigans with required campaign filings.
Campbell points out that Davis filed incomplete late forms and either did not read the regulations or did not comprehend them.
Davis like to post selfies with local police officers and judges on her political campaign Facebook page. That might cause problems for these individuals when they are in uniform or just for being on a political social media page.
This circus ain't over yet. We've only seen the dancing dogs and the clowns.
***UPDATE 5/11/18/6:00PM***
We told you the circus was not pulling up their tent...
Matt Campbell has posted an update on his Blue Hog Report and he reveals some serious problems facing Davis. Namely illegal campaign contributions and possibly a great impediment to he continuing her pursuit for judicial office - she is apparently accepting campaign contributions on her own behalf as she has sworn under penalty of perjury that she does not have a campaign committee.
Davis needs to immediately withdraw from the race to save herself further embarrassment by having the Arkansas Judicial and Disciplinary Commission initiate an investigation and end her campaign for serious violations of the law.
If by some chance she was elected, her actions could lead to her removal necessitating the Governor to appoint a replacement and the public having to foot the bill for another election.
***UPDATE 5/12/18 -2:30 PM***
A reader, that is also an attorney, pointed out to us that Davis is also violating the law by failing to have the required "Paid for by ...." on her signs.
That notification is covered in A.C.A. 7-6-228 (c) (1):
Stay tuned. There will be more to come.
***UPDATE 06/23/18***
According the a story in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette today, Arnold was found to have violated state laws in connection with her failed campaign for Little Rock District Judge.
We have sent a request to the Arkansas Ethics Commission for a copy of their file and will post an update when we receive it.
***UPDATE 06/28/18***
We received a response from the Ethics Commission. We will post the complete file when it is available, around a month from now.
JaNan Arnold Davis Ethics Violation - Part 1 by Russ Racop on Scribd
