Here we go again, and again, and again… (an open letter to each of the Quorum Court Justices)

Author: Mike Goad Published: December 9, 2021 0 comments

Dear Honorable Pope County Justices of the Peace,

The next meeting of the Pope County Quorum Court is in early January 2022.

A proposed ordinance that was up for a third required reading at the December 2021 meeting was tabled instead of being read. The ordinance would restrict the county judge and quorum court from providing support documents to a casino applicant, first requiring a vote of the people of Pope County. The ordinance should be up for its third required reading at the next scheduled meeting—unless it is tabled yet again.

I wonder, have you asked state election officials whether a vote on authorizing county officials to provide support documents is even feasible under state election laws?

Did you confer with the county attorney on the legalities of this ordinance?

Since the Pope County Attorney has resigned and A.C.A. § 14-14-902 (Staff) states “The prosecuting attorney or his or her deputy serving each county shall serve as legal counsel of the quorum court unless otherwise provided by county ordinance,” have you conferred with that office on the legalities and constitutionality of the ordinance?

Back in 2019, Judge Cross, JP Caleb Moore, and others explored ways to have a local vote on “this casino issue” as was required by Ordinance 2018-O-42, which was in effect at the time. Moore talked about it during an August 13, 2019 quorum court meeting where a resolution of support was passed for Cherokee Nation Businesses.

The Secretary of State’s office was asked. “The reply was that we could not hold a vote on this issue since it was already in the state constitution.”

They asked the Arkansas Election Commission about it. “The same answer was given, that we could not hold a vote on this issue.”

They asked others for legal advice. “We quickly found out that most law firms were either conflicted or would not touch this problem. Most said that it was legally not possible.”

In June 2019, “Mr. Story, the author of the local ordinance, told us what the intent of the local ordinance was. It was for the Quorum Court to vet and choose an operator and then put that operator up for a vote. No one on the Court or the County Judge had ever heard that explanation. If that truly was the intent of the ordinance then we knew that was impossible for us to comply with. In no way is that option legal or even remotely a good answer to how to conduct this issue.”

“After months of tirelessly trying to find a solution to this problem, we came to the conclusion that there is no legal way to have a vote on this issue.”

The proposed ordinance currently before the quorum court is very similar to 2018-O-42, which was repealed by Ordinance 2019-O-61 on October 28, 2019, and declared unconstitutional by Judge William Pearson the next day.

In fact, section titles are identical between the two ordinances, particularly:

Restriction on the County Judge until authorized by a Vote of the People, and
Restriction on the Quorum Court until authorized by a Vote of the People.

On October 29, 2019, Pope County Circuit Court Judge William Pierson found:

“that Ordinance 18-0-42 is not in pari materia with Amendment 100. Indeed, it is in direct conflict with Amendment 100. Amendment 100 specifies that the authority and discretion to issue letters or resolutions of support lie with the County Judge and the Quorum Court. Amendment 100 does not place that authority or discretion in the electorate of Pope County. Accordingly, Ordinance 18-0-42 is unconstitutional and void.”

The same is true of the proposed ordinance now before the quorum court for the same reasons.

Unfortunately, while the plaintiffs appealed Judge Pierson’s ruling to the Supreme Court and lost, the Justices declined to proffer an opinion on the constitutionality of 2018-O-42 since it had properly been repealed by Ordinance 2019-O-61, saying, “As a general rule, this court will not review issues that are moot… To do so would be to render advisory opinions, which this court will not do.”

When the Quorum Court looks at this ordinance next month, it will have been 11 months since it was first introduced. That, in and of itself, should tell you something.

The ordinance is a bad idea. It is moot because no application is needed since a license has been issued. It is unconstitutional, it acts as a bar to the constitutionally assigned duties of the county judge and the quorum court, and it attempts, without legal authority, to regulate gambling in Pope County by preventing constitutionally authorized gaming.

Please consider withdrawal of this proposed ordinance by whatever procedural method is required to do so,

Sincerely

Michael Goad, rural Pope County

Note: This open letter is emailed to each Pope County J.P. and bcc’d to other parties that might have an interest. It is also published as a blog post and shared online with the Pope County Majority Facebook group.