In Re Administrative Plans Circuit Courts

2019 Ark. 397

Opinion

Cite as 2019 Ark. 397 SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS

Opinion Delivered December 12, 2019

IN RE ADMINISTRATIVE PLANS FOR CIRCUIT COURTS

Pursuant to Administrative Order No. 14, administrative plans have been

submitted by all judicial circuits. The administrative plans for circuit courts that have been

approved, as submitted, are as follows: First, Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh,

Eighth-North, Eighth-South, Ninth-East, Ninth-West, Tenth, Eleventh-East, Twelfth,

Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Seventeenth, Eighteenth-East, Eighteenth-

West, Nineteenth-East, Nineteenth-West, Twentieth, Twenty-First, Twenty-Second, and

Twenty-Third. Before the plan submitted by the Eleventh-West Circuit can be approved,

the court requires an amendment, and upon submission of an amended plan, the circuit’s

plan is approved. All administrative plans are effective January 1, 2020.

In 2019, the first comprehensive evaluation of the specialty court programs in the

State of Arkansas was undertaken at the direction of the Specialty Court Program Advisory

Committee (“Committee”). It was not received by the Committee until after the administrative plans were due for submission to the Supreme Court. The court intends to

take note of this evaluation and the recommendations of the Committee to ensure that the

specialty court programs in the state are accomplishing their missions and adhering to

recognized standards of operation. Consequently, the court may find it necessary to require

changes in some specialty court programs that have been approved today, and affected

courts will be advised of any issues and given a reasonable time to address them.