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A recent decline in
the number of lawyers in the Arkansas legislature
has sparked statewide concern, particularly in the
legal community. Over the past ten years, the number
of attorneys in the Arkansas Senate has dwindled from
thirteen out of thirty-five in 1993 to only two members
in 2003. This trend represents a drastic decrease
in lawyer legislators in just the last decade.
While the numbers are
not as alarming in the House of Representatives, the
trend is the same. Fewer than thirty years ago, nineteen
members of the one hundred-member state House of Representatives
listed "Attorney" as their official profession.
In 2003, that number had dropped to fifteen. Since
1993, however, the House has experienced a slight
increase in the number of attorney representatives,
climbing from a twentieth-century low of eleven ten
years ago to the current figure of fifteen.
The numbers suggest
that the decline in the participation level of attorneys
in the State's political process is not necessarily
related to an overall citizen rejection of lawyers
as legislators. Rather, fewer and fewer attorneys
are seeking political office. Opinions differ as to
why this is so. There does seem to be, however, a
consensus throughout the legal community and the State
as a whole that passage of term limits in 1992 coupled
with the ever-increasing temporal responsibilities
of legislators has been paramount in attorneys' decisions
not to seek legislative office.
Every citizen of the
State should share concerns over the decreasing number
of lawyer legislators in Arkansas. The central purposes
of legislatures are to responsibly appropriate taxpayer
funds to aid in the resourceful management of government
and to analyze, criticize, and propose legislation
for the overall good of their constituents. Because
of their extensive training and education in critical
thinking skills, lawyers are uniquely suited to succeed
in performing such essential functions. It is extremely
important that inefficient and poorly written legislative
proposals be critically analyzed and rejected by lawyer
legislators capable of recognizing the failings of
such proposals.
Some would argue that
legislators have access to staff attorneys whose job
it is to assist members in analyzing and evaluating
intricate legal issues. This argument, however, is
somewhat inaccurate. As stated by Lu Hardin and Rita
Fleming in their 2002 The Arkansas Lawyer article,
while they are very competent, "legislative staff
attorneys, many times, are not in a position to challenge
or question the legislator. The result during the
next legislative session, with few attorneys could
be questionable bills passing both the House and the
Senate." While most would acknowledge that the
Legislature need not be filled to the brim with attorneys,
without a significant amount of lawyer participation
in the political process, subsequent results might
be dire for the State of Arkansas. The Arkansas Bar
Association's newly created Political Action Committee
plans to help by supporting and encouraging more Arkansas
lawyers to seek legislative office.
The Arkansas Bar Association
Political Action Committee ("Arkansas Bar PAC")
is a voluntary, nonprofit, unincorporated political
association made up of members of the Arkansas Bar
Association who have paid the established minimum
contribution (now $20.00) within a current bar year.
The Arkansas Bar PAC is independent of any political
party, candidate or other organization. The Arkansas
Bar PAC was formed primarily for the purpose of electing
more members of the Arkansas Bar Association to the
Arkansas legislature.
To achieve this purpose,
the Arkansas Bar PAC has the power to solicit and
accept voluntary contributions from all sources. This
Committee is charged with the responsibility to expend
such contributions, within certain legal parameters,
to support the election campaign of designated members
of the Arkansas Bar Association running as candidates
for the Arkansas Senate and the Arkansas House of
Representatives. The PAC Executive Committee will
determine which members of the Arkansas Bar Association
shall receive contributions and the amount of the
contributions from the Arkansas Bar PAC.
The Executive Committee
also determines the criteria for making such contributions
to designated Arkansas Bar Association candidates.
The Committee will not use political party affiliation
in any way as criteria for contributions. In fact,
the Executive Committee may very well contribute to
two or more members of the Arkansas Bar Association
running for the same legislative position. The bottom
line is to take all necessary steps to increase the
number of legislators in the Arkansas Legislature
by financially assisting those Arkansas Bar Association
member candidates willing to run for office.
I have the privilege
of serving as the first chairperson of the Arkansas
Bar PAC. Anthony Hilliard has done a great deal of
work in drafting the bylaws of the PAC and registering
the PAC with the State. He will serve as the Secretary/Treasurer.
At its June meeting, the House of Delegates selected
Robin Carroll of El Dorado, David Vandergriff of Fort
Smith, and Elizabeth Thomas Smith of Little Rock,
as other members of the PAC Executive Committee.
The initial response for membership has been surprisingly
good. Please contact the Arkansas Bar Association
office for a PAC membership form. Membership only
requires a minimum contribution of $20.00. Please
join us in creating a new opportunity to support our
fellow attorneys in their quest for a position in
the Arkansas General Assembly. •
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