On Thursday, the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed a circuit court opinion that ruled a Conway attorney did not have the right to bring a firearm into the Pulaski County District Courthouse.
According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, after hearing the case in early February, the court ruled against 52-year-old Conway attorney Chris Corbitt who filed a lawsuit against Pulaski County after being turned away from the district courthouse in early January 2020.
Writing the court opinion, Chief Justice John Dan Kemp said Corbitt argued “that the circuit court abused its discretion by denying his petition for writ of mandamus because the plain language of Arkansas Code “allows him to carry a firearm into a courthouse.”
Corbitt argued the code in question, Arkansas Code 5-73-122, authorizes attorneys as “officers of the court” to carry a firearm in any court or courthouse in the state.
The defendants in the case argued that it only permits officers of the court to possess a firearm in a courthouse when “authorized by the court.”
Kemp wrote the circuit court found “Corbitt failed to show that he had a clear, legal right that had been denied. We agree with the circuit court’s conclusion.”
Justices Rhonda Wood, Shawn Womack and Barbara Webb concurred with parts of the ruling and dissented to parts.
When the case was argued before the Supreme Court last month, Corbitt had lawsuits filed against Saline County after being denied entry to the county courthouse while armed; against Arkansas State University over being denied admission with a gun to First National Bank Arena; against the city of Little Rock for being denied admission to City Hall while carrying a gun; and another lawsuit against Pulaski County naming Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde and Sheriff Eric Higgins as well as Circuit Judge Tim Fox after he was denied entry to the Pulaski County Circuit Courthouse.
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