Candidate for El Dorado City Council is eligible to hold office due to infamous crime conviction.

A 1991 conviction for a felony charge of Theft by Deception makes her ineligible

Janice Hicks is running for the Ward 1 seat on the El Dorado, AR City Council.

Hicks is ineligible to hold any elected office in the state of Arkansas due to a 1991 conviction for Theft by Deception.

Hicks was able to get her felony records sealed in 2024, but she is still barred from holding any elected office.

Hicks filed a petition to seal her conviction in November 2024.

Union County Circuit Court Judge David Graham signed an order on November 25, 2024.

Under Article 5, Section 9 of the Arkansas Constitution, any person convicted of embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery, or any other "infamous crime" is permanently ineligible to hold or run for elected office in the state.

Infamous crimes in Arkansas includes any felony or misdemeanor involving deceit, fraud, or false statement.

Hot check convictions under the Arkansas Hot Check Law have been repeatedly classified as crimes of deception and fraud, making candidates who plead guilty or are convicted legally ineligible.

Under state law, having a public trust or infamous crime sealed or expunged does not restore your eligibility to run for office.

The Arkansas Supreme Court enforces these rules even when a conviction occurred decades prior or resulted from a misdemeanor.

Here's an article from the Arkansas Law Review that explains it all.

Word is that a lawsuit to remove her from the ballot is in the works in El Dorado.

Check back for updates.

Arkansas State Police Trooper fired

I n June 2023 a teenage female filed a compliant with the Arkansas State Police ("ASP") about Corporal Michael Valentin, an ASP Trooper stationed in Harrison, AR. In her complaint she alleged that Valentin had groomed her and had sexual activities, while on duty, with her and another minor female. She also alleged he was stalking her. An internal investigation was opened. Both teenage females were interviewed as was Valentin. The girls stated that they were acquainted with Valentine because one of them was the stepdaughter of a fellow trooper and Valentin was a frequent customer at the restaurant that the fellow trooper and his wife owned, where both of the girls worked. The fellow state trooper was Jason Hutcheson. And the restaurant was Hutch's Hot Chicken. Jason Hutcheson Valentin even helped out with some construction projects at Hutcheson's restaurant. The girls stated that for about nine months, Valentin had causal encounters with them at different locat...

Arkansas State Police Troopers fired for illicit sexual relationship

Two Arkansas State Police Troopers were fired on April 5, 2024 after administrative investigations were conducted into accusations that they were romantically involved. Sgt. Mark Austin Blackerby (38 and married) of Scott and Trooper Jessica Diane McCord (30 and single) of Conway during their interviews with the State Police Office of Professional Standards ("OPS") in January 2024, were dishonest about the affair according to records provided to us by the ASP. Blackerby and his wife Cassie - a Jacksonville cop Initially, the investigation focused on Blackerby and both Blackerby and McCord denied a sexual relationship even though ASP vehicle tracking systems showed their vehicles parked at secluded locations for hours at at time and his vehicle at her home in Conway multiple times when he was on the clock. Blackerby admitted that he also disabled the tracking devices in his vehicle to try and hide his movements and their hookups. Blackerby told investigators that he is a ...

Little Rock Mayor's wedding announcement leads to a discovery of another legal blunder of Antwan Phillips

The feckless Little Rock mayor made this post of Facebook yesterday. So this morning we went to the County Clerk's website and grabbed a copy of his marriage license application. We immediately noticed that both Scott and his bride to be listed the same residence address - 8101 Kanis Oaks Drive. Scott's residence on his voter records is on Edwina Drive in Southwest Little Rock. Scott's bride-to-be is registered to vote in Florida. More about her later on in the story. So we Googled that address. According to records on file with Pulaski County, the property is owned by DRS Family Trust. You might wonder who is DRS Family Trust. Well dear readers, it's the mayor. The trust uses the middle initials of the mayor ("D" for Derrick) and his future spouse ("R" for Renee). the "S" is for Scott. How did we come to that conclusion? Well dear readers, it's from the mortgage the feckless mayor took out on his new home. And the feckless mayor also ...

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