Reported Decisions
A Blog
The sky is blue, water is wet, and impeachment is not a ‘coup’
The headline in today's paper proclaimed: "Trump rips inquiry as 'coup' attempt." Ark. Democrat-Gazette, 12/18/19. The context is President Trump's letter to Speaker Pelosi regarding the impeachment vote likely to happen today or tomorrow in the House of...
New Rules for Arkansas Rehearing and Review Petitions
Invariably, one side is sorely disappointed with the outcome of an appeal. Thus, petitions for rehearing and petitions for review are common last-gasp hail-mary attempts that clients (and their lawyers) cannot resist filing. With a per curiam opinion today, the...
Plan to attend the 2019 Corbin Symposium
The University of Arkansas School of Law will host the 2nd Annual Corbin Symposium sponsored by the Pulaski County Bar Foundation March 28-29, 2019 in Fayetteville. https://pcbf.pulaskibar.com/corbin-symposium/ The two-day program is focused on appellate practice...
Some Thoughts on Judicial Campaigns and Money
I appreciate the Arkansas Lawyer publishing my article on Judicial Campaign Finance. It is a timely and complex issue. There are reforms that will help, but enacting those reforms will require leadership from judges and lawyers. Here's a link to the current issue,...
Supreme Court Overrules Court of Appeals on Finality Doctrine
Anyone who follows appellate decisions in Arkansas has observed the particular affinity the Arkansas Court of Appeals has for the finality doctrine. Stated simply, absent some specific exception, there must be a final order as to all claims and all parties before an...
U.S. Supreme Court Affirms Restriction on Judges Raising Campaign Money
I blogged about this case in January. http://reporteddecisions.com/2015/01/17/free-speech-vs-judicial-ethics/ Today, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed the sanctions levied against a judicial candidate for violating Florida's rules prohibiting judicial candidates from...
Earls v. Harvest Credit Elevates Form Over Substance
I have been following the case of Earls v. Harvest Credit. It was decided by the Arkansas Court of Appeals, but then taken on review by the Arkansas Supreme Court. Their decision was released last week. It was a simple collection case on an unpaid credit card...
Free Speech vs. Judicial Ethics
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments Tuesday (1/20/15) on a case pitting a judicial candidate's First Amendment rights against the judicial code of ethics limiting a candidate's role in campaign fundraising. The case is Williams-Yulee v. Florida Bar. It will...
Service by e-mail wasn’t good enough
Today the Arkansas Supreme Court decided Steward v. Kuettel, 2014 Ark. 499. In this case, the trial court entered an order, pursuant to Rule 4(e)(5) allowing the plaintiff to serve the defendant by email, with a tracking pixel to confirm that the email and attached...
Judges Behaving Badly
Two recent examples of judicial misconduct, with two very different results. Hercules and the Umpire on Judge Fuller:...
Seventh Circuit holds Wisconsin and Indiana Bans on Gay Marriage are Unconstitutional
You will see much in the headlines today and tomorrow about this case. The media will attempt to condense this 40 page decision into a few soundbites. If you want to digest the whole decision for yourself, here it is:Baskin v. Bogan and Wolfe v. WalkerIf you don't...
Adventures in Rule Making: The Court Struggles to Make Sense Out of Non-Party Fault, and Other Outgrowth From Tort Reform — A guest blog post by Brian G. Brooks
The Court issued three separate per curiam orders on August 7, 2014, addressing the work of the Special Task Force on Practice and Procedure in Civil Cases and the Supreme Court Committee on Civil Practice. These orders are marked by a true oddity: dissents. And not...