Baxter County Judge Mickey Pendergrass
Recent court filings indicate that some of the documents at the center of a Freedom of Information Act dispute between a blogger and the Baxter County Judge have been released. Court documents also reveal that the blogger has asked for additional county records and that three circuit court judges have recused themselves from hearing the FOIA complaint.
Little Rock attorney Matt Campbell, who blogs as the Blue Hog Report, filed a FOIA complaint against County Judge Mickey Pendergrass on June 4 after the two disagreed over how several FOIA requests submitted to the county earlier that week should proceed.
Blogger/Attorney Matt Campbell
An amended complaint filed Wednesday by Campbell notes that the blogger had received electronic copies of the titles of all vehicles owned by the county, something that he had initially requested on June 1.
Campbell’s amended FOIA complaint notes that he is still awaiting a slew of county documents related to other FOIA requests.
On June 2, Campbell requested electronic copies of all county credit cards from Jan. 1, 2014, to the present on which Pendergrass was an authorized user or signer; all gas card statements from Jan. 1, 2014, to the present on which the county judge was an authorized user or signer; and all monthly cell phone statements from Jan. 1, 2014, to the present for any cell phone used by Pendergrass that is paid whole or in part by county funds. These FOIA requests were noted in the blogger’s original FOIA complaint.
Campbell’s amended complaint notes that three additional FOIA requests have also been filed seeking county documents.
On June 3, the blogger asked for electronic copies of all emails to or from Pendergrass’ judge@baxtercounty.org email address from Jan. 1, 2020, to the present. On June 4, the blogger submitted a fourth FOIA request to the county judge, asking for electronic copies of all non-payroll Baxter County checks signed by Pendergrass from Jan. 1, 2014, to the present. On June 8, Campbell filed another FOIA request seeking electronic copies of all phone records from each and every cell phone paid for with Baxter County funds from Jan. 1, 2019, to the present.
In his complaint, Campbell asks the Baxter County Circuit Court to order Pendergrass to provide the requested documents electronically and for the county to cover his court costs stemming from the complaint.
Three of the four judges from the Baxter County Circuit Court have recused themselves from hearing the FOIA complaint. Court documents show that judges Andrew Bailey and Johnnie Copeland recused themselves on June 7 and Suzie Layton joined them the following day. Should John Putman recuse himself, the Arkansas Supreme Court will appoint a special judge to hear the complaint.
The FOIA disputes between Campbell and Pendergrass began on June 1 when the blogger requested electronic copies of the titles to all of the county’s vehicles.
Pendergrass responded later that day that the county’s vehicle titles were not currently available in electronic form. Instead, the titles were available to be viewed by appointment Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If any records needed to be scanned and transmitted electronically, Campbell would be charged $15 an hour for the labor involved.
The blogger replied that FOIA does not allow those requesting records to be charged for the time spent scanning records, that the person making the request was not required to first come examine the records and that the county judge could not require someone making an FOIA request to make an appointment before they could view public records.
State law provides that Arkansans are entitled to examine or receive copies of any public record during the regular business hours of the custodian of those records. Under Arkansas FOIA, a custodian of records is a person who has administrative control over that record.
Arkansas law identifies county judges as the chief executive officer for that county, and the Arkansas Constitution grants a county judge custody over county property.
Campbell’s lawsuit argues that county records are tangible property and since the county judge has possession of those records, that official is the custodian of those records.
State law requires that if a person who receives an FOIA request is not the custodian of records, that person must notify the requester and identify the custodian, if known or readily ascertainable by the person.
In FOIA complaints, the county prosecutor also reviews the matter and can decide if criminal charges should apply to the government officials involved in the case. Campbell’s complaint notes that as Pendergrass’ defense attorney could possibly be the county prosecutor, he does not expect that the county judge would face any criminal charges stemming from not responding to the FOIA requests.
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