PHOTO: The Arkansas Justice Building on the state Capitol grounds in LIttle Rock on Jan. 14, 2025. The building houses the state Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals and the Administrative Office of the Courts. | Sonny Albarado/Arkansas Advocate
By TESS VRBIN | Arkansas Advocate
The Arkansas Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision Wednesday to allow a state House candidate to run in the March primary despite her opponent’s argument that she should be disqualified.
By a 6-1 decision, justices ruled that John Kyle Day “failed to prove” that Laura “Missy” Wardlaw had been convicted of an “infamous crime.” Day and Wardlaw are running in the March 3 Republican primary for a House seat in southeast Arkansas.
“Infamous crimes” include embezzlement or forgery, and the Arkansas Constitution prohibits someone convicted of these crimes from holding elected office.
Wardlaw was charged in 2018 with writing a hot check and had forfeited bond, which typically happens when a defendant fails to appear in court. Day argued to the Pulaski County Circuit Court in December that bond forfeiture amounted to a conviction.
A circuit judge ruled against Day, who appealed the decision to the Supreme Court in January.
In an opinion written by Justice Courtney Hudson, the court sided with Wardlaw’s attorney’s argument that bond forfeiture does not constitute a conviction or a guilty plea. Bond forfeiture typically happens when a defendant fails to appear in court.
“It is undisputed that there was no criminal trial, as Wardlaw never even appeared to be arraigned, so there was no guilty verdict,” Special Justice Tiffany Milligan Brown wrote in her concurring opinion.
Milligan Brown was one of three special justices appointed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders for the case after Justices Cody Hiland, Nicholas Bronni and Barbara Webb recused themselves.
Justice Rhonda Wood disagreed, saying Wardlaw shouldn’t have been considered eligible.
“Because a preponderance of the evidence showed that Wardlaw was guilty of a hot-check violation, Day had a clear and certain right to a writ of mandamus ordering votes for Wardlaw not to be counted,” Wood wrote in her dissenting opinion.
Day and Wardlaw are running in House District 94, which includes parts of Bradley, Drew and Desha counties. Wardlaw’s husband, Republican Rep. Jeff Wardlaw of Hermitage, currently holds the seat and has reached his term limit.
The winner of the primary will not face a Democratic candidate in November’s general election.
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