Judge Blocks Sanders’ Bid for Control: Uncertain Future for Arkansas Prison System

In a recent ruling, a judge has declared Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ initiative to assume control over Arkansas’ prison system as “unconstitutional,” marking another setback for the governor.

Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Patricia James determined that transferring oversight of the Arkansas Department of Corrections from the Board of Corrections to Governor Sanders, as outlined in two statutes proposed in 2023, violates a specific amendment in the state’s constitution.

“The facts and legal principles clearly show that the Arkansas Board of Corrections is governed by Amendment 33 of the Arkansas Constitution and is responsible for managing the State’s penal and correctional facilities,” Judge James stated in her seven-page order issued on Friday. “When a statute is in conflict with the Arkansas Constitution, it is the courts’ duty to uphold the Constitution and declare the statute invalid.”

Back in April 2023, Sanders enacted the “Safer, Stronger Arkansas” legislative package, which aimed to facilitate the construction of a new 3,000-bed prison to alleviate jail overcrowding, as reported by Little Rock-based ABC affiliate KATV. However, the Arkansas Board of Corrections argued that due to staffing shortages, expanding capacity could compromise the safety of both staff and inmates. Consequently, they filed a lawsuit challenging the statutes that aimed to make the Arkansas secretary of corrections answerable to Sanders instead of the board.

This legal battle has sparked a contentious power struggle over who holds the authority to implement changes within the state prison system.

In her final judgment, Judge James declared that the secretary of corrections, along with the directors of the Division of Correction and Division of Community Correction, must report to the Arkansas Board of Corrections rather than to Governor Sanders.

In a response to the ruling, a spokesman for Sanders suggested to Law&Crime that the efforts to create more housing in state prisons are mostly about inmates having been released too early. He also declared that the state’s high court will see the case.

“These laws are about protecting the people of Arkansas and ending the failed policy of catch-and-early-release, and the Governor is confident in the Attorney General and his team’s appeal to the Arkansas Supreme Court,” director of communications Sam Dubke said.

This is not the first time in recent days that Sanders has seen a ruling go against her. On Oct. 22, the same judge slammed her decision to delay a special election until next summer, contending that such an action would deprive citizens of their representation.

While agreeing that “the Governor has the sole ability to set dates for a special election,” James held that “that authority is not absolute.”