Cite as 2022 Ark. 151
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. D-22-478
Opinion Delivered: August 9, 2022
ARKANSAS JUDICIAL DISCIPLINE AND
DISABILITY COMMISSION PETITIONER’S REPORT OF
PETITIONER UNCONTESTED SANCTION
V.
DON BOURNE, POPE COUNTY EXPEDITED PETITION GRANTED;
DISTRICT COURT JUDGE ORDER OF SUSPENSION
RESPONDENT WITHOUT PAY IMPOSED.
PER CURIAM
The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission filed a petition for
expedited consideration and report of uncontested sanction following its investigation of
complaints lodged against the Honorable Don Bourne, a Pope County District Court Judge.
The Commission and Judge Bourne have agreed to recommend to this court a suspension
without pay for ninety days, with seventy-five days held in abeyance for one year. Judge
Bourne has also agreed to multiple remedial measures and that he will never again hold
judicial office once his current term expires. We grant the petition, suspend Judge Bourne
without pay, and order the additional conditions.
Judge Bourne has served as a district judge since 2001. Recently, several complaints
have been filed against Judge Bourne involving his conduct toward unrepresented litigants.
This conduct includes demeaning comments toward Spanish-speaking defendants and
negative comments to defendants who are not from Pope County (Count 1). Other
complaints concerned Judge Bourne’s failure to conduct proper indigency determinations
and failure to keep adequate records (Count 2).
Judge Bourne did not contest either count and instead waived a formal disciplinary
hearing and accepted the Investigatory Panel’s recommended sanction. The Commission
voted 8–0 to approve the Panel’s recommended disposition on both counts. Because the
sanction for Count 1 includes a suspension without pay, the Commission submitted its
recommendation to this court for review on an expedited basis. 1 Ark. Jud. Discipline &
Disability Comm’n R. 12(B) (providing for expedited consideration of Commission
matters).
This court grants expedited consideration and now decides whether to accept the
Commission’s uncontested report and recommended sanction of suspension without pay.
Ark. Jud. Discipline & Disability Comm’n R. 9(J) & 12(D). We can accept, reject, or
modify, in whole or in part, the findings and recommendations of the Commission. Id. R.
12(G). We review judicial-discipline matters de novo. Ark. Jud. Discipline & Disability
Comm’n v. Sims, 2021 Ark. 126, at 2. Having reviewed the documents provided, along with
mitigating factors, we accept the Commission’s findings of fact and recommendation of
suspension.
We suspend Judge Don Bourne from the bench without pay for ninety days, with
seventy-five of those days held in abeyance if he completes or adheres to the agreed remedial
measures, including, but not limited to:
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Judge Bourne accepted a censure for Count 2, which is not before this court on
review. The sanctions cover the following Commission case numbers: 21-125; 21-182; 21-
184; 21-253; 21-257; 21-320; 21-323; 21-326; and 21-332.
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• Spend the two-week suspension attending and observing other district court judges
and write reflective reports on each visit;
• Obtain and maintain a digital-audio recorder in his courtrooms prior to the end of
his suspension and preserve audio recordings of court proceedings;
• Allow the Commission to monitor his courtroom and allow access to staff and
documents as needed;
• Attend an approved online judicial-ethics class; and
• Read a report and complete online training about bullying and harassment in the
legal profession.
Additionally, Judge Don Bourne shall never again hold a judicial office after his
current term expires. This court notes that in addition to the public signal that a suspension
without pay sends, the suspension also imposes a financial penalty of several thousands of
dollars in lost pay. The suspension will begin on August 16, 2022. The mandate shall issue
immediately.
Expedited petition granted; order of suspension without pay imposed; mandate to
issue immediately.
WOMACK, J., concurs.
SHAWN A. WOMACK, Justice, concurring. While I agree this matter should
receive expedited consideration, and also agree to accept the sanctions outlined by this court,
I write separately to again note that the passage of Amendment 80 rendered the Judicial
Discipline and Disability Commission constitutionally invalid in its present form. See In re
Ark. Jud. Discipline & Disability Comm’n Appointments, 2021 Ark. 27 (per curiam) (Womack,
J., concurring). Accordingly, the discipline administered today can and should be
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administered as part of the judicial power granted exclusively to this and other courts of this
state by Amendment 80, and through a process designed and approved by us, rather than as
a mere ratification of the actions of a defunct Commission.
I respectfully concur.
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