LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The debate and power struggle between Arkansas prison commissioners and the governor's office landed in front of a judge on Thursday, and the judge ruled in favor of the Board of Corrections.
In response to a series of motions, Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Patricia Ann James said the board has the ability to deny prison expansion plans by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and her Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri.
Judge James also ruled that new laws passed in 2023 that made the prison secretary answerable to the governor were unconstitutional and upheld the board's Dec. 14th move to suspend Profiri.
"While I am disappointed in the ruling, I am confident in the work of my extraordinary team of attorneys and staff and the case we are preparing on appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court," Attorney General Tim Griffin said.
The drama between the board and the Sanders administration began with a fight over adding prison beds before turning into lawsuits against each other. The Republican governor called out the board in November after the board approved only a portion of the 500 prison beds requested.
It accelerated when, at the next board meeting, Profiri vowed to override the board's objections and expand the number of beds without their approval. He based that authority on powers granted by lawmakers in the Arkansas Protect Act – the sweeping sentencing and crime bill passed in April.
But Board Chairman Benny Magness pointed to Amendment 33 of the state's constitution, which allows prison and higher education boards to remain largely independent and outside the governor's control.
The moves to assert those powers sprouted two lawsuits, including the one James ruled on Thursday.
In the other lawsuit filed by Griffin, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox declared that Griffin and the Sanders administration have to allow the board to hire its own counsel as both sides fight over who has the final say over day-to-day prison operations in the state.
Now, the attorney hired by the board is urging other commissioners to assert their independence from the governor and for rulings like this to establish their purpose clearly.
"I think [Judge James] also left open room for Judge Fox to address this issue more precisely," said Abtin Mehdizadegan, the lawyer representing the Board of Corrections. "I would call on every board under Amendment 33, especially beginning with the University of Arkansas and its Board of Trustees, to come forward."
Thursday's hearing began in the morning, about three hours after the Pulaski County Courthouse was evacuated after a reported bomb threat.