Arkansas

Ex-judge gives up law license after taking plea in federal bribery case over jury verdict

A former Arkansas judge who pleaded guilty earlier this year in a federal bribery case concerning his reduction of a jury award from over $5 million to $1 million has given up his license to practice law. Michael Maggio requested in March to voluntarily surrender his license and the motion…

Apr 17, 2015 10:15 AM CDT

Suspicious lawyer finds malware on external hard drive supplied by police lawyer in discovery

An Arkansas lawyer is seeking sanctions after his computer expert found malware on an external hard drive supplied in response to a discovery request. Lawyer Matthew Campbell of North Little Rock says he became suspicious when he received the hard drive by Federal Express in June 2014 from a lawyer…

Apr 14, 2015 7:13 AM CDT

For second time, lawyer faces drug charge after meth allegedly falls out of his pocket at a bank

An Arkansas lawyer is facing a felony drug-possession charge after a plastic bag containing methamphetamine allegedly fell out of his pocket while he was a customer at a local bank. It is the second time in six years that James Clouette, 68, has been criminally charged for this reason, reports…

Apr 2, 2015 8:45 AM CDT

Arkansas governor says he won’t sign religious freedom bill without changes

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced on Wednesday that he won’t sign a religious freedom bill unless lawmakers revise it. Hutchinson wants the legislature to recall or amend the bill so it more closely tracks federal legislation, report the New York Times and the Washington Post. The Arkansas bill, like the…

Apr 1, 2015 11:56 AM CDT

As a growing number of states enact ‘rehoming’ laws, Facebook reportedly disables adoption page

Responding to news of parents placing children they find difficult to deal with in the care of strangers they identify as potential caretakers via the Internet, a growing number of lawmakers are enacting legislation to curtail the controversial practice. Meanwhile, Facebook has disabled an “Adoption Through Disruption” page being used…

Mar 23, 2015 11:00 AM CDT

Pet zebra mauls Arkansas judge

An Arkansas judge was hospitalized in serious condition, authorities said, after he was attacked Sunday by a pet zebra kept by his father on a 40-acre family farm in Searcy. A court clerk said White County District Judge Mark Derrick suffered eye and arm injuries. No criminal charges are expected,…

Mar 18, 2015 11:30 AM CDT

Local governments in Arkansas can’t bar gay discrimination as a result of new law

A new law in Arkansas bars local governments from enacting discrimination protections for gay people. The law, set to take effect this summer, was enacted on Monday when Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson neither signed nor vetoed the measure, report the Washington Post and Arkansas Online. Hutchinson, a Republican, was elected…

Feb 25, 2015 8:48 AM CST

Bats living in courthouse invade trial; one tries to bite deputy

Bats said to live in an elevator shaft at an Arkansas courthouse made a courtroom appearance on Thursday. The bats—more than two dozen of them—interrupted a trial at the Sevier County Courthouse in De Queen, Arkansas, the Associated Press reports, citing a story in the Texarkana Gazette (sub. req.). People…

Feb 2, 2015 10:00 AM CST

Former judge pleads guilty, admits taking bribe to cut jury verdict from $5.2M to $1M

A former Arkansas judge waived indictment and pleaded guilty Friday to a federal criminal information (PDF) charging him with accepting a bribe for reducing a nursing home negligence verdict from $5.2 million to $1 million. Michael A. Maggio, 53, admitted being “improperly influenced” in the nursing home case by campaign…

Jan 12, 2015 12:05 PM CST

Nativity scene on courthouse lawn has disclaimer; lawyer’s family sponsors the display

A nativity scene on the courthouse lawn in Mountain Home, Arkansas, will include a disclaimer after a humanist group complained about the display last year. The disclaimer will inform passersby that the display is owned and erected by private citizens, report the Baxter Bulletin and the Associated Press. The family…

Dec 4, 2014 8:46 AM CST

Arrest warrant issued for Arkansas housing official in Freedom of Information Act matter

A Little Rock, Arkansas, judge issued an arrest warrant for the head of a housing agency for not providing documents sought in a newspaper’s Freedom of Information Act request, the Associated Press reports. District Judge Alice Lightle signed the warrant, issued by the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney’s office, for a…

Oct 31, 2014 3:45 PM CDT

Ex-judge once jailed for mailing live snake gets 40 years in drug case; feds say he killed witness

Imprisoned a decade ago after he and his son mailed a live poisonous snake to a man with whom they had a dispute, a former Arkansas judge on Friday was sentenced to 40 years in a new federal prosecution. Bob Sam Castleman was convicted last year in a case over…

Sep 12, 2014 5:20 PM CDT

Judge banned from bench due to online comments, disclosing confidential info on celebrity’s adoption

An Arkansas judge has been permanently removed from the bench over online comments he made under a “geauxjudge” pseudonym, including discussion of a confidential adoption of a child by actress Charlize Theron. Now-former Faulkner County Circuit Judge Mike Maggio did not personally oversee the 2012 adoption case, but it was…

Sep 11, 2014 2:20 PM CDT

2 lawyers who rejected $9.5M attorney fee in Prempro case will get $21.8M

Two lead lawyers in long-running litigation over Pfizer’s Inc.’s Prempro menopause drug have more than doubled their own payout by challenging a plan to allocate them less than $10 million of a $62 million common-benefit fund for attorney fees. Federal court filings in Little Rock, Arkansas, say fellow plaintiffs lawyers…

Jul 23, 2014 8:20 PM CDT

Walmart Museum sues photographer’s widow for Walton family pictures and negatives

The Walmart Museum and family members of Wal-Mart Stores founder Sam Walton have filed a lawsuit seeking the rights to family photos taken over the course of several decades. The suit pending in Arkansas federal court seeks negatives, proofs and prints taken between 1950 and 1994 by Fayetteville photographer Robert…

May 26, 2014 12:09 PM CDT