The Arkansas Supreme Court building in Little Rock. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)
A Pulaski County circuit judge agreed Wednesday to continue blocking the release of emails between an Arkansas Supreme Court justice and a former court employee.
Judge Patricia James issued the preliminary injunction Sept. 6 in response to a complaint from Associate Justice Courtney Rae Hudson, who argued she is the custodian of her emails that Arkansas Business senior editor Mark Friedman sought to obtain in August via the state’s Freedom of Information Act.
Friedman had asked the Administrative Office of the Courts and the Office of Professional Conduct for all communications after January 2023 between former OPC director Lisa Ballard and several individuals, including Hudson.
OPC’s acting director, Charlene Fleetwood, intended to respond to Friedman that the requested records are exempt from the FOIA, Hudson’s complaint said, but five other Supreme Court justices overruled Fleetwood and said any responsive records should be released.