Former District 5 Justice of the Peace Lloyd Franklin filed two legal complaints Monday, one against three fellow Jefferson County Quorum Court members and three individuals identified as John Doe 1, John Doe 2 and John Doe 3.
Franklin accuses District 12 Justice of the Peace Ted Harden, District 8 Justice of the Peace Roy Agee, District 4 Justice of the Peace Patricia Royal Johnson and the three John Does of violating the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, Section 25-19-106 of the Arkansas Code. The accusation arises from what Franklin charges is an illegal Quorum Court Budget Committee meeting held Nov. 25-26. Harden, Agee and Johnson, along with District 10 Justice Dr. Conley F. Byrd, District 11 Justice Danny Holcomb and a John Doe, are accused of taking part in an illegal executive session on Feb. 28, 2023.
In both cases Franklin is seeking an injunction preventing “any further illegal meetings that violate FOIA,” as well as “a writ of mandamus directing the defendants to refrain from participating in such meetings, a formal acknowledgment of wrongdoing, disclosure of the documents related to the meeting, disclosure of details of the topics discussed, a record of the attendees present at the meeting, minutes from the meeting, and any video and audio from the meeting,” according to the lawsuit.
Franklin and the 12 other members are named defendants in a suit filed by County Judge Gerald Robinson claiming business was conducted without rules of procedure being established. A hearing in this case was held Dec. 19 in circuit court, and a written ruling from Special Judge Randy Wright is pending.
Franklin contends defendants convened an unlawful meeting Nov. 25-26 in the Quorum Courtroom under the pretense of a Budget Committee meeting and that the meeting times were confidentially sent to select elected officials “at irregular intervals, outside the timeframe required for proper notice,” and not disclosed to the general public or Quorum Court members. State law requires the public to be notified of such meetings at least 2 hours in advance.
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The Quorum Court room was locked during the meetings, Franklin also claims, adding elected officials had to knock to gain entrance.
Franklin claims he attended the Feb. 28, 2023, meeting but was informed it was an executive session and he was not permitted to remain. Franklin says he refused to leave when asked, citing his right as a Quorum Court member to attend all meetings of the county’s governing body. He also claims Robinson’s chief of staff, Rosetta Giddens, barred him from entering when the meeting reportedly moved to Robinson’ office. Franklin also claims a person named Stanley James remained present at the meeting and “provided testimony in favor of an employee with a grievance, creating a prejudicial environment.”
No attorneys were listed for either party in either of the lawsuits.
Franklin, whose term expired Wednesday after losing a re-election bid to Jimmy Fisher Sr. in March, has now filed three lawsuits in as many weeks. He sued Robinson, Lakeshore Recycling Services and its area general manager, Brian Lockhart, on Dec. 17 over Robinson’s signing of a sanitation contract with LRS for service in unincorporated areas of the county, which Franklin says was done without proper bidding.