|
|
| |
| Wed, Dec. 3, 2008 |  |
 |
|
||
| |
Appeals judge responds to charges Wednesday, Apr 25, 2007 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - In a response to charges brought against him by a state disciplinary panel, Arkansas Appeals Court Judge Wendell Griffen said Tuesday his public comments on the federal government's response to Hurricane Katrina and other topics were protected under the First Amendment. The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission formally charged Griffen on Monday with violating the Arkansas Code of Judicial Conduct by making several public statements and writing an opinion piece expressing views on Katrina, the minimum wage, homosexuality and other issues. In his response, Griffen wrote that the conduct described in the charges "involved personal extra-judicial comments and actions about matters of general public concern that did not involve pending or impending litigation, or otherwise relate to the exercise of judicial functions or activities." As such, the comments and conduct constituted protected speech under the First Amendment, Griffen wrote. The judicial code states that a judge should conduct extra-judicial activities in such a way that they do not cast reasonable doubt on the judge's capacity to act impartially as a judge. The code also states that a judge "may speak, write, lecture, teach on and participate in other extra-judicial activities concerning the law, the legal system, the administration of justice and non-legal subjects," subject to the code's other requirements. Griffen also noted that on Sept. 15, 2006, the commission dismissed, in part, allegations of misconduct based on a Sept. 10, 2005, speech he gave to the NAACP in which he referred to the roof of the Superdome in New Orleans as a "scab" over "racism and classism in society." That speech forms part of the basis for the charges filed Monday against Griffen. Because of the previous dismissal, the commission cannot base any allegations on that speech, Griffen argued. The judge also claimed the commission violated his due-process rights at a March 16 probable cause hearing in several ways, including refusing to let him present any testimony from witnesses. Griffen also claimed Chairman Michael Gott exhibited "intemperate and discourteous conduct" toward him at the hearing. The commission must hold a disciplinary hearing 30 to 45 days after receiving Griffen's response, although the time frame can be extended for good cause. The commission could decide to dismiss the charges, issue a censure or reprimand or recommend that the state Supreme Court suspend Griffen or remove him from office. In an interview Tuesday, Griffen said that if the commission disciplines him he will appeal to the state Supreme Court, and further if necessary. "If a person is not free in this country to speak openly and honestly about public policy, where that policy doesn't involve a pending case or an impending case, then nobody is free," he said. In 2002, the commission admonished Griffen for publicly criticizing the University of Arkansas, his alma mater, for slow progress in hiring and promoting minorities. Griffen is black. Griffen appealed to the state Supreme Court, which overturned the commission's ruling on grounds the canon it used was too vague and infringed on free speech. The canon eventually was more narrowly written. In 2004, the commission decided against pursuing charges against Griffen for, among other things, advocating parole for a state prison inmate. Griffen argued at the time he did so as the prisoner's pastor, not as a judge. |
