Natural State News

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin on June 13 sent separate letters to the Arkansas Supreme Court and Circuit Court Judge Herbert Wright. Both letters object to recent maneuvers by plaintiffs in the Jackson et al. v. Arkansas Department of Education et al. case, which challenges when the LEARNS Act can be implemented. After sending the letters, Griffin issued the following statement:

“Through recent shenanigans, the plaintiffs in this case have attempted to circumvent the appropriate legal process. Late last week, an attorney for the plaintiffs served deposition subpoenas on legislative staff to elicit testimony in connection with a June 20 preliminary injunction hearing that was scheduled in Pulaski County Circuit Court prior to this case being appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

“As our letter to the Arkansas Supreme Court explains, these subpoenas are improper for several reasons. First, they flout the State Supreme Court’s jurisdiction. The subpoenas were filed in Pulaski County Circuit Court, which cannot hear this case now that it’s on appeal.

“Second, the subpoenas are invalid because they fail to comply with basic procedural requirements. My office and other parties in the case were not notified of the subpoenas until three days after they were served. Stealth subpoenas like this are improper. This is simply the latest example of the plaintiffs’ counsel’s inability to follow basic procedural rules, such as word limits on filings.

“Third, these subpoenas are barred by legislative privilege and undermine the separation of powers. The plaintiffs’ counsel is seeking to compel testimony about the legislative process, including conversations between legislative staff and members of the General Assembly about that process. Such testimony is barred by the Arkansas Constitution.

“Fourth, the subpoenas fly in the face of the plaintiffs’ counsel’s own stated logic. She is on record saying ‘everyone – the parties, the Court, and the public – know[s] [it] is untrue’ that ‘the emergency clause in the LEARNS Act was passed with a second, separate roll-call vote.’ If it is so obvious to anyone paying attention that the emergency clause for the LEARNS Act – and every other bill passed this session with an emergency clause – is invalid on its face, then there is no need to further prove that point through testimony by legislative staff.

“Additionally, my office has sent a letter to Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Wright. That letter responds to a June 12 letter from plaintiffs’ counsel asking Judge Wright ‘to confirm that, despite the Defendants’ pending interlocutory appeal of the [temporary restraining order of the LEARNS Act implementation] … the June 20 hearing will proceed as scheduled.’ We make it clear to Judge Wright that the circuit court does not have jurisdiction to hold the preliminary injunction hearing while the temporary restraining order is on appeal.”

To read the letters, click here.

Original source can be found here.