LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — The last racial quota for a state board in Arkansas was recently struck down by a federal judge. Rather than defend that quota, the state actually agreed with the plaintiff suing to remove it.
Former University of Arkansas professor Jay Greene, a white man, sued the state in October over a law mandating that one member of the Arkansas Ethics Commission be of a minority race.
Greene’s attorneys say he had previously put forward his name for consideration for the commission.
“But because this statute states that there must be a member of a minority race on the commission, when the opening came up, he was disqualified due to no reason other than his race. It’s just a straightforward racial quota. And the Supreme Court has said that essentially the government can’t do that,” said Pacific Legal Foundation Sr. Attorney Caleb Trotter, who represented Greene.
The Ethics Commission’s racial quota was part of the 1991 initiated act that established the body. That’s likely why it survived longer than other race quotas, as the legislature couldn’t remove it from Arkansas’ Constitution without a two-thirds vote because the five-member commission was created by a vote of the people.
Each seat holder on the commission is appointed by a different state official, one by the governor, lieutenant governor, House speaker, Senate president pro tempore, and attorney general.
When commission member Miguel Lopez’s term came to an end last summer, the law demanded that his replacement be of a minority race because he was the only non-white commission member at the time. Attorney General Tim Griffin didn’t appoint a replacement, refusing to comply with the race quota.
Lopez has remained on the commission since.
Griffin’s refusal perplexed then-director of the commission, Graham Sloan.
“The people of the state of Arkansas said they wanted a five-member board and that they wanted certain people to be represented, certain groups to be represented on that board. It’s never proven to be a problem for the commission. You know, and I’ve been here more than 25 years and there’s never been a problem,” Sloan told KATV in June.
“Minorities constitute 20 percent of the Arkansas population. And so a law that would say that there’ll be one member of a minority race on the board, you know, it gives that 20 percent of the population. It gives them representation on the board,” Sloan said.
Last week, state officials with appointing power sided with the plaintiff suing them and filed a joint motion alongside Greene asking the court to declare the race quota unconstitutional, a violation of the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
“And traditionally, you would have either a trial or briefs and then the court makes a decision weighing both arguments,” Trotter said, “but here we had all five state officials agreeing with our position that this racial quota for the Ethics Commission is unconstitutional.”
The next day, the court permanently eliminated the race quota.
“No longer does the attorney general or any other state official have to consider someone’s race in making these appointments,” Trotter said, “and that’s a great day for the Constitution. It’s a great day for equality under the law and for all Arkansans.”
Jeff LeMaster, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, told KATV that Griffin plans to announce a new appointment to the commission soon.
