LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Supreme Court has declared that newly appointed Chief Justice Karen Baker attempted to dismiss several senior court officials shortly after taking office. In response to her actions, the court issued regulations aimed at preventing such unilateral firings from occurring in the future.
The Supreme Court’s ruling established that any termination of employees requires specific procedures to be followed, a decision deemed essential after Baker sought to terminate several long-standing staff members. Although Baker was elected as chief justice in November, she did not respond to requests for comment regarding the matter.
The court’s order emphasized the potential disruption to the administration of justice in Arkansas if Baker’s terminations had been allowed to proceed. It further noted that she had failed to notify or consult with the court prior to her attempts to dismiss these employees.
Baker, along with Justice Courtney Goodson, did not take part in the court’s ruling. According to the court’s documentation, Baker had informed the director of the administrative office of the courts and the police chief of the Supreme Court on Thursday that she intended to terminate them due to their responses to public records requests concerning her. The following day, she proceeded with the termination of the chief and prepared to dismiss at least ten other staff members.
While the specific records concerning Baker were not identified in the order, Arkansas Business previously reported on an incident last month where Baker entered the office of the Administrative Office of the Courts Director Marty Sullivan while he was absent. Baker claimed that her intention was to set up a tour of the office and denied tampering with any items.
The court determined that Baker’s actions appeared to be retaliatory, citing that some of those targeted already had pending complaints against her in human resources. The chief justice did not provide any substantial reasons to the other justices or the employees regarding the dismissals, according to the order.
Under the newly established regulations, terminating the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts now requires the backing of at least four justices, with the director retaining sole hiring and firing authority for their personnel. The order has effectively annulled any dismissals that took place on or after Wednesday that violated these new procedures, thereby reversing Baker’s attempted firings.
Baker triumphed over fellow Justice Rhonda Wood in the race for chief justice last November. Although the court positions are officially nonpartisan, Republican-backed justices occupy five of the seven available seats.
The two contenders for the chief justice position represented opposing perspectives in a ruling from the court last year that blocked a measure aimed at protecting abortion rights from appearing on the November ballot. Wood authored the majority opinion supporting the rejection of the petitions for the measure, while Baker strongly dissented, criticizing the court’s interpretation.
