Left: Arkansas Circuit Court Judge Stephen Shirron (re-election campaign photo). Right: Former Arkansas Circuit Court Judge Chris Williams (Arkansas.gov).
An Arkansas judge has ordered that a disciplinary letter be hung directly below the courtroom portrait of a disgraced jurist in order to counteract a "celebration of corruption."
Arkansas 7th Judicial Circuit Administrative Judge Stephen Shirron sent out the order this week regarding former 7th Judicial Circuit First Division Judge Chris Williams. On March 28, 2024, the Arkansas Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission (JDDC) announced in a press release that Williams' resignation as circuit judge would be effective two days later and that it served as a "removal from office."
The announcement came after an investigation into "allegations of misconduct." As part of Williams' resignation, the details of the investigation were never made public, per the Arkansas Times. Williams was deemed "no longer eligible to be elected, appointed, or otherwise serve in the judiciary of the State of Arkansas and has agreed that he will not seek or accept appointment to any other public office in the future." Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was tasked with appointing his replacement.
The man's removal from office "cast a long shadow," Shirron said, and his recent filing is an attempt to make sure that "dark chapter in our history" is not honored.
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"This is the first time in history that a judge in Hot Spring County has been removed from office for judicial misconduct," Shirron wrote on Monday, per a copy of the release provided by the Arkansas Times. "It is such a rare occurrence that no other judge has been removed in the entire state since" March 2024.
"Needless to say, this cast a long shadow over the judiciary and the local bar," he continued, adding that he hoped the saga was over, until on Oct. 13, he learned Williams "had a portrait of himself framed, and that he planned to hang it in the Hot Spring County Courtroom."
Such an action is not commonly undertaken by the judge themselves, according to Shirron, but the local bar association in each county. The associations would pay for the portrait "of each retiring judge" and hold a "celebration of the esteemed jurist for his dedicated and honorable service to our citizens with a public portrait unveiling."
Williams reportedly went another route.
Shirron said he learned from the Hot Spring County Bar Association that it "had no involvement" with the portrait "and the members had not even so much as been made aware of the unveiling" held on Oct. 16. Furthermore, the date of its planning "fell directly in the midst of the fall Judicial Council Meeting" held hours away, "and the judges of the district would be out of town."
"This quietly orchestrated secret ceremony is vastly divergent from the historical practice of this district," the administrative judge added.
In addition to citing his "negotiation" with the JDDC, Williams mentioned his "health" and "advancing age" as reasons for his resignation. He said he served the state and its 7th Judicial Circuit for more than 20 years.
More than 18 months later, his portrait was unveiled. And Shirron was less than pleased about the ode to a man he suggested didn't deserve it.
"As Judges and lawyers, we should hold ourselves and our peers to the highest ethical standards. Without accountability, trust in justice erodes, undermining fairness and public confidence. Integrity is the backbone of the system the people trust to uphold the rule of law," Shirron wrote in his Monday order.
"As a Circuit Judge, it is our obligation to exercise superintending control over our courtrooms. We cannot stand idly by and allow a celebration of corruption in our courtrooms without speaking up," he added.
Shirron concluded by quoting Anglo-Irish politician and philosopher Edmund Burke: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
He also stated his plan.
"As the Administrative Circuit Judge of the 7th Judicial Circuit, I have directed that a framed copy of the official JDDC Press Release be hung in the courtroom, immediately below the portrait of Chris Williams during all court proceedings, to make clear the irrefutable historical context," Shirron wrote.
