Arkansas attorney general seeks end to order establishing majority-Black judicial districts

Attorney General Tim Griffin asked a federal judge Thursday to end a 35-year-old order establishing multiple majority-Black judicial districts in Arkansas, citing a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that weakened a key part of the Voting Rights Act.

The Republican attorney general asked a judge to terminate the 1991 consent decree that created 10 judicial seats in predominantly Black subdistricts. The order was issued in a lawsuit that had been filed by Black residents who said the state’s system of electing judges violated the Voting Rights Act.

In his filing, Griffin said the decree should be terminated because of significant changes to the law and because of the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais ruling in April that said the Voting Rights Act does not require states to create majority-minority districts. 

“The consent decree should independently be terminated because defendants have fully complied with the consent decree in good faith since it was entered and any vestiges of past discrimination have been eliminated to the extent practicable,” the filing said.

In a news release, Griffin said the consent decree is “premised on racial stereotypes and contrary to equal protection mandates,” and that it unconstitutionally divides voters by race.

Griffin’s filing was criticized by civil rights advocates who said the decree ensured a more representative judicial system.

“I think it’s an attack on the Black judges that are doing an outstanding job right now across Arkansas,” said Barry Jefferson, president of the NAACP Arkansas State Conference. “I think this is something that we really need to stand up and fight against because we can’t let this continue to happen throughout our country.”

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund said it planned to oppose Griffin’s motion and noted that Black judges had not been elected in Arkansas before the 1991 consent decree.

“So we’re talking about a justice system that was being doled out by people who didn’t look like the people who were receiving that justice, and that’s pretty fundamentally unfair…It’s an important decree that’s led to a more representative bench, and I think that should be important to everybody in Arkansas,” said Kathryn Sadasivan, senior counsel for the Legal Defense Fund.