Hagenbaugh v. Montgomery

Summary

The Supreme Court of Arkansas affirmed the dismissal of a complaint seeking to convene a grand jury to investigate alleged election fraud and violations of the Political Practices Act. The court held that Arkansas Code section 7-5-807 did not prohibit the circuit court from considering an Arkansas State Police investigative report and gave the court substantial discretion to determine whether there was good ground to believe the allegations. The court also rejected the appellants’ unsupported claims that they lacked a legal remedy or were denied a First Amendment right to a free and fair vote.

Holdings

1. Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-807 does not prohibit a circuit court from considering an investigative report when deciding whether there is good ground to believe the charges in a grand-jury complaint are true.
2. The circuit court did not err in declining to convene a grand jury because § 7-5-807(a) gives the circuit court broad discretion to determine whether there is good ground to believe the alleged charges are true.
3. Appellants were not without a remedy and did not establish a First Amendment violation merely because their circuit-court complaint was dismissed.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-807 prohibited the circuit court from considering an Arkansas State Police investigative report when deciding whether there was good ground to convene a special grand jury.
2. Whether the circuit court erred by determining that there was insufficient ground to convene a grand jury to investigate the alleged election-law violations.
3. Whether dismissal of the complaint left appellants without a remedy and violated their First Amendment right to a free and fair vote.

Disposition

affirmed