A special judge in the Civil Division of the 11th West Circuit Court found Jefferson County Judge Gerald Robinson in contempt of a court order issued last November, stating he continued to arbitrarily and capriciously deny claims for payment to vendors of Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr.’s office.
Gary Arnold, a retired Saline County circuit judge who presided over the case because the local judges have recused themselves, ordered Robinson to pay Woods’ legal fees. Arnold said during his ruling in Friday’s hearing he didn’t think any other sanction would be appropriate.
“As you know, that money comes out of the pockets of the people of Jefferson County,” said Paragould lawyer Adam Butler, who represented Woods. “Because of that, we hope this sends the message to the county judge to just treat the sheriff’s office the way it should be treated and process his claims the way he does every other department and quit acting in a manner toward (Woods) that’s arbitrary and capricious.”
Arnold had ruled following a Nov. 29, 2023, hearing that Robinson did the same in rejecting 93 out of more than 2,000 budget claims by Woods’ office since June 13, 2022, but also denied Woods’ request for contempt at the time. Woods filed the original suit March 21, 2022, accusing Robinson of inadequately funding operations out of the 2022 county budget.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Woods said the delay in payment has negatively impacted his office’s service from Arkansas Police Products and Sysco Foods, which provides dining services for the W.C. “Dub” Brassell Detention Center, caused an account with Amazon to shut down and impacted his office’s credit rating.
“I’m happy with the judge’s ruling,” Woods said. “I don’t know where we go from here. We weren’t back in court because I wanted to but because I was forced to. When I took office in 2019, I took it with the sole focus to do what the people elected me to do, but this has been really distracting.”
Arnold told both parties during his ruling that their personal animosity is getting in the way of doing the jobs they are capable of doing, and it’s hurting Jefferson County. Arnold then expressed doubt that the order would resolve the problem.
“The judge’s ruling is what it is, but I respectfully disagree with the judge’s ruling,” Robinson said. “I feel this is strictly a political move on the sheriff’s part to try to discredit me in public. If I had to do it all over again, I’m going to continue to look at and make my determinations based on how those claims are submitted. And I will continue to do my job and I respectfully do not agree with the judge’s ruling.”
North Little Rock lawyer Casey Castleberry, who represented Robinson, said they will consider an appeal of the ruling.
The defense argued through testimony by Robinson and his chief of staff, Rosetta Giddens, that neither Woods nor his staff took the proper procedures to submitting claims for payment, either by listing the wrong address of a jail or sheriff’s office, or requesting payment out of an incorrect county account. Suggesting while Giddens took the stand it was “too coincidental” the sheriff’s office has had a higher percentage of claims denied than other departments, Butler remarked “If it looks like a duck and walks like a duck, it’s a duck.”
Leading off the hearing with his testimony, Woods argued he tried to talk with Robinson about the claims denials in January, adding Robinson walked out of the meeting in “grandstanding or gaslighting” Woods after the basis for the meeting was established.
“I think the judge failed to see that no other department submits the claims wrong,” Robinson said. “How can you gauge and say we’re arbitrarily doing something when the sheriff isn’t submitting the claims properly?”
Robinson said he would not change the way he or his office processes claims for payment despite the latest ruling. During his testimony, he explained how Jefferson County was in “dismal” financial shape when he first took office as judge in 2019, discovering purchases he said shouldn’t have been made and expenditures inconsistent with the budget during his first term in office, thus hiring Giddens.
“I treat the sheriff the way I would treat anybody else,” Robinson said. “It has nothing to do with personality. It has to do with how those claims are submitted, period.”
Robinson’s legal battles aren’t over. He is also the defendant in a class-action suit filed by Jefferson County Assessor Gloria Tillman, who alleges nonpayment of employees during a 20-day period in April. Tillman is suing for upward of $750,000 in lost wages, attorneys’ fees and costs for the class.
A hearing on the matter before special judge William “Randy” Wright is scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday in the same Second Division courtroom as Friday’s proceedings.