Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Support independent, faith-based journalism. Donate
Search Search this site

Arkansas Supreme Court, Attorney General, continue to tangle with pastor/judge

NewsBob Allen  |  September 20, 2019

The Arkansas Supreme Court won’t restore the authority of a circuit judge who also serves as pastor of a Baptist church to decide death-penalty cases, and the state’s top lawyer wants him barred from any civil cases involving her office in separate but intertwined controversies that began with a prayer vigil protesting capital punishment on Good Friday in 2017.

The Supreme Court on Thursday denied Judge Wendell Griffen’s petition to restore his power to hear and decide cases involving the death penalty and method of execution. The same court stripped him of that authority on April 17, 2017, after Griffen temporarily restrained the use of an execution drug in a case involving a property dispute before attending an anti-death penalty demonstration near the governor’s mansion with fellow members of New Millennium Church in Little Rock.

Griffen, founding pastor of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-affiliated church, recently asked the Supreme Court justices to recuse themselves from the case, claiming bias. The high court denied that request without comment on Aug. 2.

Leslie Rutledge

Attorney General Leslie Rutledge – who in 2017 asked the Supreme Court to disqualify Griffen from hearing cases involving the death penalty – on Wednesday petitioned the body to reverse a ruling against her office handed down last week by Judge Griffen in a licensing dispute over medical marijuana.

Rutledge, a Republican sworn into office in 2015, accused Griffen of bias and belligerent behavior against the Attorney General’s Office and asked the high court to remove him from the cannabis case and bar him from hearing any future civil cases involving her lawyers.

“Judge Griffen has a long history of unprofessional, improper and biased conduct in cases involving the Attorney General’s Office and cannot be considered remotely impartial in cases involving the Attorney General’s Office,” the Sept. 17 petition said in part.

Griffen, who formerly served on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, last week rejected the Attorney General’s claim of “sovereign immunity” – a judicial doctrine the prevents the government from being sued without its consent – in a lawsuit challenging the process used to issue the state’s first medical-marijuana growing licenses.

In 2016, Arkansas voters amended the state constitution to legalize medical marijuana. The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission named the top five applicants to be awarded the first round of licenses in 2018.

Carpenter Farms Medical Group in Grady, Arkansas – the only applicant wholly owned by minorities – had the sixth-highest score but was disqualified, reportedly because of an error on its application form. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported later that one of the winning applicants made the same mistake, but it apparently went undetected.

Carpenter Farms is a well-known small business started by an African-American woman selling vegetables out of a one-acre garden she planted in 1969. Today, the family business operates more than 1,000 acres, is touted as a success story by the United States Department of Agriculture and has been nominated as Arkansas Business of the Year.

The lawsuit before Griffen claims the Medical Marijuana Commission “carried out the application process in a flawed, biased, and arbitrary and capricious manner, and that the commissioners failed to uniformly apply their rules when scoring the applications.” Judge Griffen went further, finding the process in violation of the Arkansas constitution and declaring the commission’s licensing decisions null and void.

The Attorney General’s petition stems from an exchange between Griffen and Senior Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Merritt in a hearing last Friday, described in the court filing as “just one recent example of Judge Griffen’s unprofessional and unjudicial conduct.”

Wendell Griffen

“Judge Griffen has for years exhibited a pattern and practice of injudicious conduct that establishes he lacks impartiality, judicial temperament, and an ability to fairly adjudicate cases involving the Attorney General’s Office,” the petition alleges.

“Multiple Assistant Attorneys General who have appeared in his court have reported that Judge Griffen regularly yells at them, refuses to allow them to make a record or preserve arguments for appeal, belligerently argues with state attorneys and state witnesses, rules against the state despite a preponderance of the evidence and/or controlling case law in its favor, and imposes unfair requirements (such as unreasonably shortening time) in their cases,” the petition claims.

“When state attorneys attempt to do their jobs and advocate for their clients, Judge Griffen routinely erupts in anger, treating the lawyers’ advocacy for their clients as personal attacks on his authority as the trial judge.”

Griffen’s attorney, Mike Laux, attributed the claim to thin skin and political posturing.

“The Attorney General’s office needs to speak in terms of the law and not in terms of hurt feelings,” Laux said on social media. “In reality, Judge Griffen is a smart, well-read and evenly-tempered jurist who treats fairly all litigants before him.”

“No one can credibly say otherwise,” Laux said. “Might you get an earful if you come before him unprepared? Yes, you might, but that’s part of the game. The AG’s ill-advised motion smacks of politics.”

The Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission in June dismissed ethics charges stemming from Judge Griffen’s death-penalty protest in 2017. Griffen – photographed lying motionless on a cot at a prayer vigil, he said, “in solidarity with Jesus, the leader of our religion who was put to death by crucifixion by the Roman Empire” – claimed being a judge does not prevent him from freely exercising his religion and that speaking out on social issues does not mean he cannot be impartial while ruling from the bench.

Previous stories:

Judge calls for hate-crime probe in monument defacement

Arkansas Supreme Court refuses to step down from case challenging its own ruling against anti-death penalty judge

Judge Wendell Griffen wants power to hear death penalty cases restored

Report: Ethics complaint against anti-death penalty pastor/judge dismissed

Tags:Religious LibertyPoliticsDeath penaltyWendell GriffenArkansas Supreme CourtLeslie Rutledgemedical marijuana
Bob Allen
More by
Bob Allen
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Next BNG free webinar will survey global religious issues and human rights

      News

    • ‘Postcards from Babylon’ documentary tells a better story

      Analysis

    • Christian symbols and sedition at the Capitol: The church has work to do

      Opinion

    • What should pastors do if their members helped incite the Capitol riots?

      Analysis


    Curated

    • Joanne Rogers, widow of ‘Mr. Rogers,’ dead at age 92

      Joanne Rogers, widow of ‘Mr. Rogers,’ dead at age 92

      January 15, 2021
    • Israel hopes to vaccinate Holocaust survivors to save and repay ‘treasured’ population

      Israel hopes to vaccinate Holocaust survivors to save and repay ‘treasured’ population

      January 15, 2021
    • Conspiracy theories and the ‘American Madness’ that gripped the Capitol

      Conspiracy theories and the ‘American Madness’ that gripped the Capitol

      January 15, 2021
    • Anti-Semitism seen in Capitol insurrection raises alarms

      Anti-Semitism seen in Capitol insurrection raises alarms

      January 14, 2021
    Read Next:

    Seminarian, CBF and Georgia church find fellowship together

    NewsJeff Brumley

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • In New York City, serving the homeless offered a clue for how to serve trauma victims during the pandemic

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • At Central Seminary, Durso inauguration moves to virtual platform

      NewsBNG staff

    • 10 prayers for 2021 (if we survive January)

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • Why ‘moderate’ churches fear telling it like it is

      OpinionEric Minton

    • Kentucky seminary receives Baugh Foundation grant to start Institute for Black Church Studies

      NewsPat Cole

    • American Protestants less open to sermons on race in 2020, survey finds

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 3 current trends youth leaders need to know

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • 4 things you can do to counter the millions of Americans who are fully radicalized

      OpinionCorey Fields

    • Christian symbols and sedition at the Capitol: The church has work to do

      OpinionRhonda Abbott Blevins

    • ‘Postcards from Babylon’ documentary tells a better story

      AnalysisRick Pidcock

    • Give yourself some grace during the pandemic

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • What should pastors do if their members helped incite the Capitol riots?

      AnalysisAndrew Gardner

    • Seminarian, CBF and Georgia church find fellowship together

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Understanding the trauma and finding hope after the siege of the nation’s Capitol

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • New effort to repeal federal death penalty is beginning

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Why I long for the church of my youth

      OpinionRichard T. Hughes

    • ‘He being dead, yet speaketh’

      OpinionHarold Ivan Smith

    • Barna advice to pastors: Talk honestly about emotions and relationships

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Toxic masculinity, 24-hour news and complacency fed the Jan. 6 riots

      OpinionJohn Jay Alvaro

    • Trump administration pushes evangelical agenda through last-minute actions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Trump’s parting gift echos his immigration policies toward Africa

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • A lesson from 19th century North Carolina: Lost cause, lost opportunity

      OpinionGreg Jarrell

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Dear white Christians, are you done praying yet?

      OpinionNatasha Nedrick

    • SBC seminary presidents meet with Black pastors but don’t change position on Critical Race Theory

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • In New York City, serving the homeless offered a clue for how to serve trauma victims during the pandemic

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • At Central Seminary, Durso inauguration moves to virtual platform

      NewsBNG staff

    • Kentucky seminary receives Baugh Foundation grant to start Institute for Black Church Studies

      NewsPat Cole

    • American Protestants less open to sermons on race in 2020, survey finds

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 3 current trends youth leaders need to know

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Seminarian, CBF and Georgia church find fellowship together

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • New effort to repeal federal death penalty is beginning

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Barna advice to pastors: Talk honestly about emotions and relationships

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Trump administration pushes evangelical agenda through last-minute actions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Trump’s parting gift echos his immigration policies toward Africa

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • SBC seminary presidents meet with Black pastors but don’t change position on Critical Race Theory

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Q&A with Michael McMahon of the Hymn Society of North America

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Western Recorder, second oldest Baptist paper in America, to cease publication

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Letter to the Editor: No need to ‘call me back’ to my faith after supporting Trump

      NewsBNG staff

    • Clergy advocate to repeal death penalty in Virginia

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Denominational leaders denounce Capitol violence while evangelicals offer mixed responses

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • D.C. church hangs huge Black Lives Matter banners in view of Trump rally

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Pastors respond to unbelievable events at Capitol on Epiphany 2021

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 1-8-21

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Donors keep Judson College open for spring semester

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 25 years ago this week, five Baptist churches were booted for affirming gay members

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Next BNG free webinar will survey global religious issues and human rights

      NewsBNG staff

    • With in-person disaster relief work curtailed due to COVID, Louisiana volunteers came up with a new idea

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • 10 prayers for 2021 (if we survive January)

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • Why ‘moderate’ churches fear telling it like it is

      OpinionEric Minton

    • 4 things you can do to counter the millions of Americans who are fully radicalized

      OpinionCorey Fields

    • Christian symbols and sedition at the Capitol: The church has work to do

      OpinionRhonda Abbott Blevins

    • Give yourself some grace during the pandemic

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Understanding the trauma and finding hope after the siege of the nation’s Capitol

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • Why I long for the church of my youth

      OpinionRichard T. Hughes

    • ‘He being dead, yet speaketh’

      OpinionHarold Ivan Smith

    • Toxic masculinity, 24-hour news and complacency fed the Jan. 6 riots

      OpinionJohn Jay Alvaro

    • A lesson from 19th century North Carolina: Lost cause, lost opportunity

      OpinionGreg Jarrell

    • Dear white Christians, are you done praying yet?

      OpinionNatasha Nedrick

    • I’ve been accused of sowing hate

      OpinionKim Brewer

    • It’s past time to admit the hard truths behind the Capitol riots

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Truth Decay: Truth is interpersonal and covenantal

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Why resisting gaslighting in the wake of sedition is self-care

      OpinionJonathan Davis

    • Four tools the church has to recover those who followed Trump’s siren song

      OpinionMichael Chancellor

    • Let’s make America great again

      OpinionTerry Austin

    • How to become the hope of 2021

      OpinionAmber Cantorna

    • Broken churches, broken nation: Will evangelicals ‘recalculate’ or rebel?    

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • We need to call Trump Christians back to the faith they left

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Remember that Epiphany ends with Herod’s terror

      OpinionAlyssa Aldape

    • We knew there would be a reckoning for religious leaders enabling Trumpism, we just didn’t know it would be today

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Do you see Jesus as a power broker or a liberator?

      OpinionSid Smith III

    • On Epiphany, let us resolve to go on

      OpinionPaul Baxley

    • On Epiphany, tend the light of Christ with truth and love

      OpinionGeorge Mason

    • Joanne Rogers, widow of ‘Mr. Rogers,’ dead at age 92

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Israel hopes to vaccinate Holocaust survivors to save and repay ‘treasured’ population

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Conspiracy theories and the ‘American Madness’ that gripped the Capitol

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Anti-Semitism seen in Capitol insurrection raises alarms

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Most Evangelical Trump Voters Didn’t Turn on Mike Pence

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What four strangers of different faiths learned while living together during a pandemic

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • In waning days of Trump presidency, Department of Health and Human Services undercuts religious liberty protections in new final rule

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How House chaplain calmed tense hours in besieged Capitol with prayers for ‘God’s covering’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Supreme Court wrestles with Georgia college free speech case

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • How self-proclaimed ‘prophets’ from a growing Christian movement provided religious motivation for the Jan. 6 events at the US Capitol

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • For insurrectionists, a violent faith brewed from nationalism, conspiracies and Jesus

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Warnock condemns Capitol rioters in post-election sermon

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A scholar of American anti-Semitism explains the hate symbols present during the US Capitol riot

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • SBC leader Russell Moore to Trump: Time to leave. ‘People are dead’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Catholic leaders, progressive and conservative, condemn the violence at the Capitol

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pro-Trump prayer meeting filled with calls for a ‘miracle’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • With his victory, Raphael Warnock becomes a member of a select club – pastor politician

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Faith groups among those calling for Trump’s impeachment after US Capitol occupation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Warnock, Biden wins give twin thrills to religious liberals

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As chaos hits Capitol, two forms of faith on display

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Warnock, pastor and politician, has role models who did both

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Sharpton: Firing officer who killed Andre Hill is not enough

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As ‘Jericho Marchers’ descend on Washington, local faith leaders brace for attacks

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • African spirituality offers Black believers ‘decolonized’ Christianity

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Warnock, pastor and politician, has role models who did both

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2021 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS