A Pulaski County judge is expected to rule within 30 days on whether to lift an injunction blocking laws that transfer authority to fire top Arkansas prison officials from the Arkansas Board of Corrections to Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
The case, heard Wednesday by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Patricia James, stems from a legal conflict dating back to 2023. That year, the Republican-led Legislature passed measures granting the governor greater control over staffing decisions at the Department of Corrections. The Arkansas Board of Corrections, citing Amendment 33 of the Arkansas Constitution, which ensures the board’s independence, challenged the laws in court. Judge James initially sided with the board, issuing a permanent injunction against the laws.
However, the Arkansas Supreme Court, after an appeal from Sanders, instructed James earlier this year to reconsider her ruling and deliberate on a joint motion from the governor and the corrections board to lift the injunction.
The dispute escalated amid public disagreements between Sanders and the board regarding additional prison bed capacity as the state faced overcrowding. Board members, then chaired by Benny Magness, moved to suspend Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri, a Sanders appointee, in part citing the governor’s insistence on expanding prison space. Profiri, however, asserted the laws gave him direct accountability to the governor’s office rather than the board.
The composition of the corrections board has since shifted. Four of its seven members are now appointees of Sanders, who used that majority to guide the board toward settling the lawsuit earlier this year. Under the settlement, the board reversed its earlier position, agreeing that the laws in question do not violate the state constitution. Additionally, the board decided not to pay attorney Abtin Mehdizadegan, who it had hired for litigation related to both this lawsuit and a separate dispute over alleged Arkansas Freedom of Information Act violations. Mehdizadegan unsuccessfully attempted to intervene in the case during Wednesday’s hearing.
Attorneys from the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, representing Sanders, argued during the hearing that the joint settlement nullifies the need for James’ injunction to remain in place. "Any other reading of the Supreme Court’s order would make little sense," said Noah Watson, a deputy solicitor general.
On the opposing side, Tim Cullen, representing Magness and board member Lee Watson, called for the injunction to remain. He emphasized that the Supreme Court's directive for James to “consider” lifting the injunction entailed careful review rather than an automatic obligation to dissolve the order. Cullen further questioned the legitimacy of the settlement's approval, describing it as an attempted circumvention of James’ earlier injunction.
Judge James did not provide a timeline for her decision beyond saying it would be issued within 30 days.