Who Runs Arkansas Prisons? Court Says It’s the Board, Not the Governor

Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders is facing a series of legal setbacks from the Pulaski County Circuit Court. After recently losing a case over election date delays, the court has now ruled in a pivotal case concerning who controls Arkansas’s prison system. The court decided that the Arkansas Board of Corrections, not the governor, holds supervisory authority over the Secretary of Corrections and the directors of the Department of Corrections.

Judge Patricia James delivered the ruling on Friday, October 31, granting summary judgment to the Board of Corrections and declaring Acts 185 and 659 of 2023 unconstitutional and void. The two laws, approved by Governor Sanders, sought to move supervisory power over the corrections secretary to the governor and grant that office control over the directors of the Division of Correction and the Division of Community Correction.

Judge Has No Doubt About Amendment 33

The Board of Corrections filed its lawsuit in December 2023, arguing that Acts 185 and 659 violated Amendment 33 of the Arkansas Constitution, which gives the board authority over the corrections secretary, division directors, and the department as a whole.

Soon after, Judge Patricia James issued a temporary restraining order blocking the laws. In January 2024, after a hearing, she converted that order into a preliminary injunction.

During that time, the board suspended and later dismissed Secretary Joe Profiri, citing ongoing conflicts over management and decision-making. Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders then hired Profiri as a senior adviser, where he currently earns $189,210.94, according to the state’s transparency website.

In her ruling, Judge James wrote that “Amendment 33 is unambiguous.” She explained that the Arkansas Constitution “vests management and control of Arkansas’s penal and correctional institutions in the Board, prohibiting the transfer of those vested powers to another officer or entity.”

Before the passage of Acts 185 and 659, James noted, “the Secretary of Corrections and the division directors served at the pleasure of the Board and were subject to the Board’s direct supervisory authority.”

The court’s order permanently blocks enforcement of the two laws that sought to give the governor authority over the corrections secretary and to grant the secretary control over the division directors. It clearly states that the Secretary of Corrections and the two division directors “shall serve at the pleasure of and report directly to the Board of Corrections, consistent with Amendment 33.”

Judge James also ruled that the board has the right to hire and compensate its own attorney, barring state officials from interfering with that process.

A Serious Setback for the Governor

The ruling, which fully sided with the Board of Corrections and rejected the governor’s arguments, marks a serious political and legal blow for Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders. What makes the outcome especially damaging is that Sanders had initially appeared confident, moving forward with her appointment of Joe Profiri to a high-paying advisory role after tensions with the board escalated.

In November 2023, Sanders publicly criticized the board during a press conference after it refused to approve Profiri’s proposal to add 500 prison beds across five state facilities. The dispute soon turned into an open clash.

Board Chair Benjamin Magness responded with a detailed seven-page letter explaining that the board could not, in good conscience, approve the expansion because of severe staffing shortages and a lack of key information from Profiri necessary for a sound decision.

In June 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court dismissed the state’s appeal of Judge James’ preliminary injunction and sent the case back to the circuit court for a final ruling. The justices also denied the state’s motion to disqualify the board’s attorney, Abtin Mehdizadegan, from participating in the case.

With Judge James’ latest ruling now finalized at the circuit court level, the state is barred from enforcing Acts 185 and 659, marking a clear and painful defeat for the governor.

Attorney General Plans to Appeal

Attorney General Tim Griffin, who represented the state, voiced his disappointment with the ruling. “I am disappointed by the ruling, confident in our case, and plan to appeal,” Griffin said in a statement.

This marks yet another appeal for Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who is also challenging a federal court decision related to the delay of a special election. However, given previous Supreme Court rulings that upheld the Board of Corrections’ authority, it may be an uphill battle for the state to overturn this latest judgment.

For now, the Arkansas Board of Corrections continues to hold full supervisory control over the state’s correctional leadership, as established under Amendment 33 of the Arkansas Constitution.