Arkansas

Arkansas Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Accusing Board of Corrections of Violating FOIA, Escalating Dispute with Governor

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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A lawsuit filed by Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin against the Board of Corrections has been dismissed by a judge. The lawsuit alleged that the board violated the state Freedom of Information Act, further escalating the ongoing dispute between Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the panel over the management of the prison system. Griffin has announced his plans to appeal the ruling made by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox. The lawsuit was related to the board’s hiring of an outside attorney in the midst of the disagreement. The conflict between … Read more

Arkansas Attorney General Challenges State Board of Corrections’ Outside Counsel in FOIA Case

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LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas – Attorney General Tim Griffin has taken legal action to remove the state Board of Corrections’ lawyer from a Freedom of Information Act case. Griffin argues that the board cannot hire an outside attorney under a specific state law because board members are not constitutional officers. The motion filed by Griffin asserts that “The Board and its members are created by statute, not the Constitution.” In response, the outside attorney, Abtin Mehdizadegan, claims that Griffin’s argument has already been rejected by another judge in a separate case involving the same parties. The … Read more

Former Therapeutic Boarding School in Arkansas Faces Lawsuit for Alleged Sexual and Physical Abuse Amidst Troubled History

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ARKANSAS – A former Arkansas religious boarding school is facing another lawsuit for allegations of sexual and physical abuse. The Lord’s Ranch, located in Warm Springs near the Missouri border, operated as a therapeutic facility from 1976 to 2016. The school’s owners, Ted and Shirley Suhl, along with counselor Emmet Alden Presley, are named as defendants in the lawsuit. The Lord’s Ranch claimed to provide services to students with emotional and behavioral issues. However, according to victims, the facility instead became a site of sexual abuse. Individual therapy sessions with Emmet Alden Presley allegedly turned … Read more

New Report Ranks States on Gun Control Laws: California Tops the List, Arkansas Ranked Last

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Several new laws tightening gun restrictions will take effect in 2024, and a recent report sheds light on how each state in the United States ranks in terms of gun control. Everytown for Gun Safety, an advocacy group, analyzed 50 gun control policies and gun death rates to determine the strength of each state’s laws. According to their annual report, California has the strongest gun laws in the country, followed by New York, Illinois, Connecticut, and Hawaii. On the other hand, Mississippi, Idaho, Montana, and Georgia were among the states with the weakest gun laws. … Read more