LITTLE ROCK (Legal Newsline) - District Judge Chris Carnahan, conservative candidate for the state Supreme Court, is no fan of judicial activism.
“Judges must stay in their lane and not legislate from the bench,” Carnahan told VIP Voter in a recent Q&A. “If a political question is at stake, it is best addressed by the legislative branch.”
Carnahan is in a three-way race for Position 2 on the court with David Sterling, chief counsel for the Arkansas Department of Human Services, and incumbent Justice Robin Wynne, who was elected to an eight-year term in 2014. The election is next Tuesday, May 24.
Judge Chris Carnahan
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Of the three, Carnahan, 50, is the down-the-line conservative.
“My judicial philosophy is simple and time tested,” he wrote on his campaign Facebook page. “Laws passed by the people and the legislature should be respected and interpreted with their original meaning in context. Innocent human life must be protected by judges and the guilty should be humanely punished.”
He has proposed a change in the Arkansas Rules of Criminal Procedure Rule that governs the release of those accused of violent crimes. The current rule prohibits judges from considering the likelihood the defendant will offend again if released on bail. Carnahan said the rule should follow federal pretrial release rules, which allows judges to consider all relevant factors when deciding bail.
At the same time, he’s a believer in community service for those convicted of certain non-violent crimes.
“He has actively pushed amnesty and community service instead of fines to solve the revolving door of courts that keep people in a debt cycle often over nonviolent, traffic offenses,” his campaign website states. “Defendants in Judge Carnahan’s Court are likely to find themselves sentenced to get their GED at UACCM (University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton) if convicted of theft or other misdemeanors.”
Carnahan is a NRA member and has been endorsed by the Gun Owners of Arkansas.
“Our constitution affirms our right to keep and bear arms,” he said on his Facebook page. “My grandfather’s shotgun is my most prized possession. It was passed down to me, and I will pass it on.”
He was elected as a district judge serving Faulkner and Van Buren counties in 2020. Before that, he was appointed district judge by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who earlier had appointed him as a circuit judge. From 1999 to 2001, he was executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas.
The terms of three Supreme Court justices, Karen Baker, Rhonda Wood and Robin Wynne, will expire on Dec. 31. A runoff election, required if a candidate receives less than 50 percent of the vote in any one race on May 24, will be held at the general election, Nov. 8.