Cite as 2022 Ark. 189
SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
No. D-22-613
Opinion Delivered: October 21, 2022
ARKANSAS JUDICIAL DISCIPLINE
AND DISABILITY COMMISSION
PETITIONER PETITIONER’S REPORT OF
UNCONTESTED SANCTION
V.
ROBIN CARROLL, CIRCUIT JUDGE
RESPONDENT
SUPPLEMENTAL RECORD
ORDERED TO BE FILED UNDER
SEAL.
PER CURIAM
Pending before this court is Petitioner Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability
Commission’s (“Commission’s”) report of uncontested sanction following its investigation
of complaints lodged against respondent, Judge Robin Carroll of the Thirteenth Judicial
Circuit. On October 5, 2022, we ordered the Commission to file the record in this case
within fifteen days and suspended Judge Carroll without pay beginning on October 10,
2022. Ark. Jud. Discipline & Disability Comm’n v. Carroll, 2022 Ark. 175, ___ S.W.3d ___.
Rather than filing the record as ordered, the Commission filed an amended report of
uncontested sanction and request for expedited consideration on October 14, 2022,
claiming that the only record the Commission can submit to this court is the “Letter of
Sanction” and “Recommendation of Suspension Without Pay” that were filed with its
initial report on September 30, 2022. According to the Commission, the investigatory
records and files developed during the course of its investigation of this matter are
confidential under Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission Rule 7. While
Rule 7 may protect certain material from disclosure to the public, this court is not prohibited
from reviewing this confidential information, as we are ultimately responsible for approving,
modifying, or rejecting the Commission’s recommended sanction. See Ark. Jud. Discipline
& Disability Comm’n R. 12(D), (G). We therefore order the Commission to file forthwith
the entire record compiled in this matter, including the investigative files, with this court.
The material shall be filed under seal due to its confidential nature. If the complete record
is not filed by October 24, 2022, at 4:00 p.m., the Commission may be ordered to appear
and show cause as to why it should not be held in contempt of this court.
Supplemental record ordered to be filed under seal.
WOOD, J., dissents.
RHONDA K. WOOD, Justice, dissenting. This court must amend the Rules of the
Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission to address this court’s need to have
more information before making any final determination of sanctions. As currently written,
Rule 7 gives the impression that the Commission’s files will remain confidential absent one
of the listed circumstances. And that impression certainly guides the Commission’s current
practice and judges’ interactions with the Commission. And while this court has decided to
exercise its judicial power to alter the current practice and order the files turned over, I
don’t think we should take that route in the middle of a case—especially when only two
months ago we accepted an agreed suspension without ordering the same information. See
2
Ark. Jud. Discipline & Disability Comm’n v. Bourne, 2022 Ark. 151. I am troubled with
treating the procedural process of these cases differently.
This court has final say both under the Rules and under Amendment 80 to determine
the appropriate sanction for a violation of judicial ethics. But currently we do not see all
relevant information to make that determination. A summary report does not provide
enough information. I would therefore amend the Rules as much as they prevent this from
happening. Otherwise, moving forward, if this court is uncomfortable with future reports
of uncontested sanctions, we should reject the agreed sanction as the Rules provide and
require the Commission to produce a full record after hearing testimony and accepting
documentary evidence.
3
Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission v. Robin Carroll, Circuit Judge
Combined Opinion