Special Section

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
NEW JUDICIAL ARTICLE
By Jim L. Julian

The Amendment 3 victory on November 7, 2000 was a culmination of 30 years of work by attorneys and judges to reform the outmoded Judicial Article in the Arkansas Constitution. Now we are tackling the job of implementing the new Judicial Article. It will require legislation by the Arkansas General Assembly, rules by the Supreme Court of Arkansas, and education of all professionals who work in the judicial system. 
     The Supreme Court of Arkansas has taken the lead in the coordination of Judicial Article implementation. Several weeks after the November election, the Court appointed the "Amendment 3 Implementation Committee" composed of Ronald D. Harrison, Jim L. Julian, Judge Robert J. Gladwin, Judge David B. Bogard, Judge John F. Stroud, Jr., Judge Andree L. Roaf, Justice Annabelle Clinton Imber, Justice Robert L. Brown, and Chief Justice Dub Arnold, Chair. The members of the Committee represent the primary organizations and committees which will be involved in developing proposed legislation and court rules: the Arkansas Bar Association, the Arkansas Judicial Council, the Arkansas Municipal Judges Council, and the Court’s Civil Procedure Committee and Criminal Practice Committee. The "Amendment 3 Implementation Committee" is also working with the Executive and Legislative branches of state government as well as the court clerks’

organizations and other interested parties.      Each organization represented on the Supreme Court Amendment 3 Implementation Committee has formed a committee to assess the issues relating to implementation of Amendment 3. Due to the January 8, 2001 start of the 2001 Arkansas General Assembly, the initial focus will be on the Legislation needed for implementation.  President Ron Harrison has appointed the "Judicial Article Implementation Task Force" for our Association, which is chaired by Professor John Watkins. By the time this article reaches your desk, the Committee will have tackled implementation issues which must be addressed by the 2001 Legislature. It is likely that our House of Delegates will have considered one or more legislative proposals at its January 27th meeting.
     Although it is anticipated that most of the changes necessitated by the new Judicial Article will be the subject of rule making by the Supreme Court of Arkansas, the Legislature will need to establish the timing and procedure for the non-partisan election of circuit court judges and appellate court judges. The Legislature must decide whether or not to hold the judicial elections during the November general election. Since the new Judicial Article requires a majority vote in judicial elections, the timing of run-off elections must be established also. The amount and use of filing fees for judicial candidates is another matter to be decided by the Arkansas Legislature. It is anticipated that legislation will address issues relating to the clerks’ offices concerning the merger of courts of law and equity. As the review process continues, other areas of necessary legislation will be uncovered and addressed by the Committee.
     The potential changes involved with the creation of new district courts have been the subject of much concern and discussion, both before and after the November 7th election. Municipal courts and other courts

of  limited jurisdiction will remain unchanged until January 1, 2005. Judges currently holding office will remain in that position until December 31, 2004. Since the new district courts do not come into existence until January 2005, it is not necessary that the Arkansas Legislature address this subject during the 2001 Legislative Session. However, some issues relating to the District Court structure may  come before the 2001 General Assembly. 
    Implementation of the merger of law and equity continues to also be a subject of great discussion and concern. All trial court level judges will become Circuit Court judges beginning July 1, 2001. The Supreme Court will promulgate new rules concerning the manner in which the judicial districts will administer the merger of courts of law and equity including, for example, the creation of subject matter divisions in certain judicial districts.
     For current information on the Judicial Article, as well as a redacted copy of the article itself, one may visit www.arkbar.com. The website for the Arkansas General Assembly is www.arkleg.state.ar.us.

           ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jim Julian is a partner in the firm of Chisenhall, Nestrud & Julian and is the Chair of the Association's Legislation Committee. Julian was Chair of the Amendment 3 Committee.

Prof. John Watkins, Chair, Scott Stafford, Dent Gitchel, Henry Hodges, Charles Schlumberger, Don Henry, Judge Mary McGowan, Judge Mark Hewett, Judge David Saxon, Bill Clark, H.T. Moore, Jonann Coniglio, Lavenski Smith, Robin Carroll, Jim Julian, Judge Robin L. Mays, Judge Don Glover, Alice Holcomb, David Beatty, Wendy Johnson, Earnest Brown, Donald Warren, Tina Green, Olan "Butch" Reeves, Judge Michael H. Mashburn, Scott Morgan, Tim Humphries, Judge Grisham Phillips, Robert Hornberger, Donna Gay, and Ex-Officio members Judge Andree Roaf, Ron Harrison, Murray Claycomb, Louis B. "Bucky" Jones.