Judge Chris Carnahan
Education: J.D., University of Arkansas Bowen School of Law; M.A. History from University of Central Arkansas, B.A. in Mathematics and History from UA Little Rock.
Prior Elected Office or Public Service: Current District Court Judge, Faulkner and Van Buren Counties; former Circuit Court Judge, former Special Associate Justice, AR Supreme Court; former Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney.
Community Service: Women's Shelter of Central Arkansas, Conway Men's Chorus, National Rifle Association. As a judge I help coordinate and preside over a Sobriety-Specialty Court for high risk and high need DWI offenders.
Do you believe there is underrepresentation of women or people of color in the courts system? If so, how would you work to correct the problem? It depends on the area, but in Central Arkansas, my experience has been that any qualified attorney can attain judicial office if they appeal to the voters, regardless of their age, sex, race, or political affiliation. In my court, my personnel are hired for excellence and I employ people from every walk of life and personal characteristic, regardless or creed or political affiliation.
An independent, fair and impartial judiciary is indispensable to our system of justice. Do you think Rule 4 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which governs political and campaign activities of judges & judicial candidates, goes far enough to ensure public confidence in the court's role as a neutral decision-maker? I believe Rule 4 in part is violative of the First Amendment. Fair, even treatment with an opportunity to be meaningfully heard should always be the priority.
Rule 2.4 from the Code of Judicial Conduct addresses external influences on judicial conduct. Should members of the Supreme Court consider the broad societal impact that their decisions have? Or should they never consider the fact that an issue is controversial, novel, or likely to affect many citizens in a profound manner? Judges must stay in their lane and not legislate from the bench. If a political question is at stake, it is best addressed by the legislative branch. Legislatures can pass good or bad laws, as long as they do not violate the Constitutional Rights of the citizenry or businesses, those are not questions that should be changed on a jurist's likes or dislikes. Otherwise, the Rule of Law is meaningless.
Noting that candidates can make campaign promises about judicial administration and court management, what rules or policies would you suggest to help improve the efficiency of the Supreme Court? Since the Supreme Court issues rules that govern court administration in the entire judiciary, what rules would you suggest to help improve organization and court management for the whole judiciary? I have and will continue to advocate for the Supreme Court to change Rule 8.5 to allow judges to consider whether a person accused of a crime of violence is likely to continue in criminal activity and harm public safety as part of the decision to release someone on pretrial release, among other conditions. Additionally, it is time to properly constitute the Judicial Disability and Discipline Commission so that it comports with Amendment 80 of the Arkansas Constitution.
To what extent do you believe that appellate courts should or should not defer to the actions of a legislature? What is your view of the court's role in a system of checks and balances? As I noted in a previous question, it is not the role of the Courts to involve themselves in political questions, unless a Constitutional Right is impacted. Political contests should be decided by the people, not merely on a judge's view of what they think is best. The Courts have functioned at their worst when they become political as in Plessy v. Ferguson.