From the Arkansas Advocate:
Attorney General Tim Griffin on Wednesday asked a state court to prevent the Arkansas Board of Corrections from spending any public funds on a lawyer he says the board hired illegally.
Griffin sued the corrections board in December 2023, alleging it had violated the state Freedom of Information Act by discussing the hiring of an attorney outside of a public meeting and hiring him with no public discussion.
In Wednesday’s amended complaint, the attorney general argues that any use of public funds to pay the lawyer would amount to an illegal exaction resulting from its FOIA violations. The Arkansas Constitution allows any citizen to sue to prevent the unauthorized or illegal use of public funds.
Griffin also asks the judge to declare that a discussion between board chairman Benny Magness and member Lee Watson was an illegal public meeting, the board illegally entered executive session to discuss hiring an attorney, and failed to properly respond to a records request made by his office.
The revised complaint also seeks to enjoin the board from employing a lawyer in any future executive session and from paying any funds to the lawyer it “unlawfully” hired.
Wednesday’s court filing is the latest twist in a complex battle over who has ultimate authority over state prisons – the Board of Corrections or the governor. The Arkansas Constitution grants a fair amount of independent authority to the prison board under Amendment 33, which sought to distance certain boards and commissions from political interference.
The winding road
The corrections board met in a 45-minute executive session on Dec. 8, 2023 to discuss an “employment matter.” Upon returning to open session, the board voted to hire a special counsel, then voted again to sign an engagement letter with attorney Abtin Mehdizadegan. A week later the attorney filed suit on behalf of the board against the governor and other officials challenging the constitutionality of two state laws the board argues violate Amendment 33.
Three days after the board’s votes on hiring Mehdizadegan, Griffin wrote to Magness advising him that the board not only violated the FOIA but also the state law requiring state agencies to certify a need for special counsel with the attorney general. Griffin gave the board another three days to “cure” its actions in another meeting.
The board did meet on Dec. 14, but only to ratify its engagement agreement with Mehdizadegan. Griffin filed his FOIA complaint in Pulaski County circuit court on Dec. 15.
On Dec. 19, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox found Griffin in “clear violation” of his legal duty to the board and gave him 30 days to work out an agreement with Mehdizadegan to let the lawyer represent the board. Fox later dismissed the suit. Griffin appealed to the state Supreme Court, which last month ruled that important issues in the case hadn’t been resolved and sent it back to Fox for more hearings.
In January 2024, in the board’s suit against the governor, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Patricia James temporarily blocked implementation of the two laws the corrections board challenged, and Griffin appealed, seeking to have that case dismissed.
Two weeks ago, the state Supreme Court denied his appeal and returned the case to the lower court for further action.
This week, the corrections board sent a letter written by Mehdizadegan certifying its need to hire an independent counsel because of Griffin’s conflict of interest in representing the state against the board.
On Tuesday, Griffin acknowledged the board’s need for its own lawyer, but still maintained that Mehdizadegan was hired illegally.
