Latest news with #ArkansasSupremeCourt
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Arkansas Supreme Court orders gag order lifted in Lonoke County deadly shooting
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Thursday ruling by the Arkansas Supreme Court is expected to lead to a gag order being lifted in a deadly Lonoke County shooting. The case came to the court on behalf of Aaron Spencer, who is facing charges of second-degree murder in the October 2024 shooting death of 67-year-old Michael Fosler. Lonoke County deputies arrest man after altercation leads to deadly shooting According to court records, Fosler had been charged in July 2024 with 'numerous sexual offenses against Spencer's teenage daughter, and he was released on bond.' On the night of the shooting, Spencer realized his daughter had left the house and went looking for her. He found Fosler's truck with his daughter inside and forced it off the road. 'After an altercation, Spencer called 911 to report he had shot Fosler. Fosler died at the scene,' court records state. National pharmacy company sues Arkansas over law eliminating PBM pharmacy ownership The record continues that the state requested a gag order on the case on Dec. 4, 2024, due to what it called extensive media coverage, including a news release from Spencer's attorneys that described him as a 'heroic father.' The state argued that the coverage and public statements would lead the community to side with Spencer, thereby harming the integrity of the jury pool. On Dec. 9, 2024, Spencer's attorney filed an opposition to the gag order. On Dec. 10, the court put the gag order in place 'without holding a hearing,' according to the filing. Spencer then requested the Supreme Court issue a command, called a 'writ of certiorari,' to the lower court to lift the gag order. His request cited the First Amendment and the Lonoke circuit court exceeded its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court honored that request on Thursday, and the writ was issued. In its ruling, the court stated: '[W]e hold that the circuit court's action in entering the challenged gag order was on its face a plain, manifest, clear, and gross abuse of discretion and in excess of its authority. Further, there is no other adequate remedy except for a writ of certiorari.' Arkansas Supreme Court decides TikTok vs. Arkansas case will go forward, denies dismissal request The ruling also cautioned the court against sealing the case's proceedings from the public, citing it as a constitutional violation. Spencer's attorneys, Erin Cassinelli and Michael Kaiser, said in a statement that the Supreme Court's decision has far-reaching implications. 'The Court has given clear guidelines for gag orders that will help the public, litigants, and courts across the state appropriately assess case-related speech as balanced with the strong First Amendment protections that are a bedrock of our society,' they stated. 'No longer will state courts be permitted to allow a prosecutor to release alarming and potentially misleading information while a circuit court blanketly restricts a citizen's public explanation of his innocence.' CVS Pharmacy files suit against Arkansas over new law preventing PBM ownership of pharmacies They continued that they appreciated the Supreme Court's 'turning the lights back on in Lonoke County.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas Supreme Court decides TikTok vs. Arkansas case will go forward, denies dismissal request
Video: TikTok challenge damaging garage doors in Cabot LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Supreme Court denied a request on behalf of the social media app TikTok to have the Arkansas lawsuit against it thrown out. The Arkansas lawsuit was filed in 2023 by Attorney General Tim Griffin. It charged TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, with violating the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). Arkansas AG Tim Griffin joins 41 other AGs calling for congressional requirement for social media surgeon general warning The suit claimed that TikTok violated the DTPA by misrepresenting itself and, in turn, exposing minors to mature content and engineered its platform to compel people to remain engaged. This has gone so far as to harm young people, the suit alleged, as they responded to various and dangerous 'TikTok challenges.' The suit was filed in the Cleburne County District Court, where attorneys for TikTok requested that the suit be dismissed, arguing that Arkansas had not established jurisdiction or a claim for relief. The court rejected the argument, meaning the case proceeded, and that ruling was subsequently appealed to the Arkansas Supreme Court. CVS Pharmacy files suit against Arkansas over new law preventing PBM ownership of pharmacies On Thursday, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal, a request that the Supreme Court force the Circuit Court to rule in TikTok's favor, stating that such a ruling would be inappropriate under Arkansas precedent. Griffin was pleased with the Thursday ruling. 'Today's ruling allows our lawsuit against TikTok to move forward,' Griffin said. 'This moves us one step closer to holding TikTok accountable for deceiving Arkansans, especially children and their parents, about its app.' Arkansas filing suit against Meta, TikTok under Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act Court records indicate that the case is scheduled to be heard on Sept. 29 in a jury trial expected to last three weeks. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Arkansas Supreme Court sends AG's FOIA lawsuit against prison board back to circuit court
The Arkansas Supreme Court building in Little Rock. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate) The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday reversed a lower court's dismissal of the attorney general's lawsuit against the state prison board for violating the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act. The ruling, written by Associate Justice Rhonda Wood for the six-member majority, sends the case back to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox for adjudication. Attorney General Tim Griffin filed the lawsuit on Dec. 15, 2023, alleging the Arkansas Board of Corrections violated the FOIA when it entered executive session during a pair of public meetings and improperly hired an outside attorney. Griffin also said the board failed to properly respond to a public records request from his office. Arkansas attorney general to appeal rulings in Board of Corrections disputes Fox gave Griffin 30 days to work with the corrections board on an agreement with an outside attorney to represent it. Fox dismissed the case without prejudice in January 2024, ruling Griffin's office failed to make an effort to initiate the statutory procedure that allows special counsel to represent state officials and entities. Griffin moved to vacate the circuit court's order, arguing his office could not certify special counsel until the board asked for legal representation, according to Thursday's order from the state Supreme Court. The attorney general typically represents state entities, but according to Thursday's order, Griffin argued his duty to represent the state corrections board depended on the board certifying its need for legal representation. 'He is correct,' Wood wrote, noting that the attorney general has no duty to represent state agencies until a certified request for services is made. '[Griffin's appeal] argues that the circuit court dismissed the action for his failure to accomplish what he legally did not have sole authority to do,' the order states. 'In response, the Board contends the circuit court had authority to dismiss the action under Arkansas Rule of Civil Procedure 41(b). Because we find the circuit court abused its discretion, we reverse and remand.' Special Justice Bud Cummins joined the decision, while Associate Justice Nicholas Bronni did not participate. The governor appointed Cummins, a former U.S. attorney, to replace Bronni, who recused himself from the case in January. Bronni served as the state's solicitor general in Griffin's office before Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed him to the high court in December. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Associate Justice Shawn Womack dissented. In his dissent, Womack writes that even though the circuit court was right to dismiss Griffin's lawsuit, the dismissal should have been with prejudice and because of sovereign immunity, a legal doctrine that the state cannot be sued in its own courts. The case should be reversed and dismissed, said Womack, who regularly cites sovereign immunity in court decisions. 'Obviously, in most situations when the State brings a lawsuit, sovereign immunity is not implicated because the lawsuit does not make the State a defendant,' he wrote. 'But in those rare instances when the State is both the plaintiff and the defendant—as it is here—sovereign immunity applies, and the underlying lawsuit is barred.' In a social media post, Griffin praised the high court's decision, which allows his suit to continue. 'I sued the Board of Corrections to defend our Freedom of Information Act. I am thankful for today's Arkansas Supreme Court decision, which will allow that lawsuit to go forward,' Griffin wrote. 'I take defending the FOIA seriously, and I will not tolerate those who violate it.' The lawsuit is part of a dispute between the corrections board and the executive branch that started in late 2023 over who has ultimate authority over the state's prison system. The board's refusal in November 2024 to approve a request to increase prison capacity by 500 beds prompted public criticism from Griffin and Sanders. The board responded by hiring an outside attorney the following month to represent it in employment matters. The board voted 3-2 to hire Abtin Mehdizadegan, a labor and employment lawyer with the Little Rock firm of Hall Booth Smith. The vote came with almost no discussion after a 45-minute closed-door session. Griffin quickly questioned the board's authority to hire outside counsel without obtaining his office's consent, citing state law that says the attorney general's office represents state officials and entities. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
NDTV
14-05-2025
- NDTV
US Woman Who Cut Foetus From Pregnant Woman's Body Faces Death Penalty
A Missouri woman who killed a pregnant lady and cut the foetus out of her body in 2022 is now facing the death penalty. Amber Waterman, 45, was convicted in federal court last year for the kidnapping and murder of 33-year-old Ashley Bush, who was 31 weeks pregnant at the time, as per reports. She is serving two consecutive life sentences for the crime. On May 8, the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that state prosecutors could continue with a capital murder trial against Waterman, rejecting her defence team's argument that a second trial would violate double jeopardy laws. According to investigators, Waterman created a fake Facebook account under the name "Lucy Barrows" on October 25, 2022, and used it to contact Bush, offering her maternity clothes and a job opportunity. She convinced Bush to meet her in a convenience store parking lot, where she kidnapped and later fatally shot her. Authorities say her motive was to steal Bush's unborn child and raise it as her own, as per 5News. After the murder, Waterman allegedly cut the foetus from Bush's body and called 911, pretending to be the mother. She told emergency responders that she had given birth in her truck on the way to the hospital and that the baby died during delivery. Federal complaints revealed that Waterman led her husband, Jamie Waterman, to Bush's body. He then allegedly burned the body in a fire pit behind their home, placed the remains in the bed of his pickup truck, and dumped them in a remote location. He later took the police to the site. The Watermans were arrested on November 3, 2022. "This horrific crime resulted in the tragic deaths of two innocent victims," US Attorney Teresa Moore said in a statement last July. "Today's guilty plea holds this defendant accountable for her actions and ensures that justice will be served." Even though Waterman is already behind bars for life, Benton County prosecutors announced they still planned to pursue the death penalty, largely because Bush's family requested it. "The worst crimes need to carry the worst punishment, whatever that happens to be," said Benton County Deputy Prosecutor Joshua Robinson. Waterman's lawyers appealed in October 2024, arguing that charging her again violated double jeopardy laws. But the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled on May 8 that the federal and state cases were based on different crimes - federal kidnapping vs state premeditated murder. The court upheld the decision, allowing the state to proceed with capital murder charges.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Yahoo
She Pretended to Help a Pregnant Woman. What She Did Next Was Unspeakable — and Now She May Face Death Penalty
State prosecutors will be allowed to continue a capital murder trial against Amber Waterman, the Missouri woman currently serving two consecutive life sentences for kidnapping and murdering a pregnant woman in 2022, whom she lured with a fake job opportunity. The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled this week that Benton County prosecutors are able to continue their trial against Waterman, 45, after her defense attorneys argued that she's already been convicted on federal charges and said being tried again at the state level would equate to double jeopardy, according to KHBS, KARK, and CBS 5 News. "We're disappointed that the Supreme Court did not agree with our arguments," Jeff Rosenzweig, one of Waterman's attorneys, told KHBS. Waterman received two consecutive life sentences last year after being found guilty of kidnapping and shooting 33-year-old Ashley Bush to death. Bush, who was pregnant, had been lured to meet Waterman at her car in the parking lot of a convenience store after Waterman reached out on Facebook promising to give her clothes that would fit an expecting mother, as well as offering a job. PEOPLE previously reported that after Waterman killed Bush, she removed her child from her body and called 911 and acted like the baby was her own, telling responding officers that the baby died while she gave birth in her truck on her way to a local hospital. Federal complaints previously obtained by PEOPLE stated that Waterman's husband, Jamie Waterman, told detectives his wife confessed to killing Bush, and that the couple later burned her body and dumped it in a remote area. The affidavits claimed Jamie led police to the place where they had dumped Bush's charred remains. The U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri said in a press release last July that Waterman confessed to killing both Bush and her baby."This horrific crime resulted in the tragic deaths of two innocent victims," U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore said at the time. "Today's guilty plea holds this defendant accountable for her actions and ensures that justice will be served." Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Waterman is currently serving consecutive life sentences without parole, PEOPLE reported last October. Benton County prosecutors said this week that they plan to seek the death penalty in part because Bush's family has requested it. Benton County Deputy Prosecutor Joshua Robinson said 'the worst crimes need to carry the worst punishment, whatever that happens to be," according to KHBS. PEOPLE has reached out to Waterman's defense attorneys for comment. Read the original article on People
