Former Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner says she plans to plead not guilty to charges she accepted cash payments from a bond broker to whom she steered state investments, but a federal judge says she can't skip a hearing to enter that plea.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe denied Shoffner's request to waive her appearance at an arraignment hearing scheduled for later this week. Volpe's order was dated Friday, but wasn't entered into the court system until Monday.
Shoffner and her attorney said in a filing with the court that she planned to plead not guilty.
A federal grand jury on June 5 indicted Shoffner on 14 counts of extortion and bribery charges.
Shoffner resigned last month after the FBI arrested her at her Newport home.