Panel says pastor/judge’s removal unjust

Panel says pastor/judge’s removal unjust

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A state government commission tasked with investigating claims concerning the ethical conduct of judges filed formal charges Sept. 20 against six members of the Arkansas Supreme Court for their handling of a case involving a Little Rock judge who also serves as a Baptist pastor.

The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission found probable cause that the justices violated canons of judicial ethics in 2017 when they barred Judge Wendell Griffen from all cases involving the death penalty because he had attended a vigil against capital punishment with members of his church.

Griffen, pastor of New Millennium Church in Little Rock, signed an order in April 2017 granting a pharmaceutical company’s request to block the state from using its drugs as part of Arkansas’ execution by lethal injection protocol. Later in the day, Griffen and church members attended a Good Friday prayer vigil protesting the state’s plan to execute eight men in 11 days. 

The Arkansas Supreme Court reacted by barring Griffen from hearing any cases that involve the death penalty or the state’s execution protocol. Griffen contends that his personal views against the death penalty, while widely known, have nothing to do with his ability to rule impartially on matters of law. For him, he says, it’s a matter of religious freedom. (BNG)