Ousted judge Willard Proctor of Little Rock hasn’t given up his fight to regain a seat on the circuit court bench.
The attorney general’s office tells me that it has received notice from Proctor that he’s considering filing a lawsuit challenging the statute that prevents a judge who has been removed from office from filing for the office again. It’s unclear what his grounds would be.
Proctor told the attorney general he is trying to determine if he files for election whether his filing fee (about $7,500) would be refunded if he loses the lawsuit and if he’d face any sanctions from the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission should he try to file. When those questions are resolved, he may attempt to file the suit and file for office. The secretary of state would be in the position to block his filing under the statute and thus would be the likely defendant.
Proctor was removed by the Supreme Court for multiple ethics violations in operation of a private probation operation he founded. This week, a federal judge dismissed his lawsuit seeking an order restoring him to office and allowing him to file for election.
Proctor’s attorney, Chrishauna Clark, said no suit had been filed yet and she didn’t want to discuss potential arguments while Proctor continued to clarify the questions mentioned by the attorney general.