Ark. 18th W. Jud. Cir. Admin. Plan

ADMINISTRATIVE PLAN—18 W JUDICIAL CIRCUIT

This administrative plan has been prepared to address changes that have occurred since

the counties in this judicial circuit lost their respective local district judges. Since January

1 2021 the people of this judicial circuit have been served by one State District Court Judge

(24th District) rather than two local district judges. The 24th State District Court Judge also

serves Scott County which is a part of the 15th Judicial Circuit.

The State District Court Judge and the Circuit Judge spoke July 10, 2023 to confirm our

agreement with this administrative plan.

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 18 REFERRALS FROM CIRCUIT COURT.

Has the circuit court referred matters pursuant to Administrative Order No. 18 to be

heard by a state district judge?

X Yes

Participating State District Judges Assignment and Allocation of Cases

The state district judges participating in referrals from the circuit court include:

District Court

Name Judicial District Assiqnment and Allocation of

Cases

Danny Thrailkill 24th State Court District Criminal cases are assigned when District

Court is in session. Others are assigned when

Circuit Judge is unavailable or by consent of

the parties.

Matters Subject to Reference

The following matters are referred from circuit court to state district court and have

been included in the administrative plan for the circuit court and the administrative plan

for the district court:

X Consent Jurisdiction. Upon the consent of all parties and approval by the circuit

judge originally assigned, the following types of cases are referred from circuit court:

X Civil

X Domestic Relations

X Probate

X Protective Orders.

X Forcible Entry and Detainers I Unlawful Detainer.

X Other Matters of an Emergency or Uncontested Nature Pending in Civil,

Domestic Relations or Probate Division.

Type of Other MattersLocation

Ex-parte Emergency Involuntary Montgomery and Polk Counties

Civil Commitments (when Circuit Judge

is unavailable)

Other Matters, if Justification for the Reference and Procedures to be

Employed are

Sufficiently Demonstrated in the Circuit Court Administration Plan Pursuant to

Administrative Order No. 14

Tvpe of Other Matters Location

None

X Criminal. The following duties are referred with respect to an investigation or prosecution

of an offense lying within the exclusive jurisdiction of the circuit court:

X Issue Search Warrant Pursuant to Rule 13.1

X Issue Arrest Warrant Pursuant to Rule 7.1 or AC A. 516-81-104

X Issue Summons Pursuant to Rule 6.1

X Reasonable Cause Determinations Pursuant to Rule 4.1 (e)

X Conduct First Appearance Pursuant to Rule 8.1

X Appoint Counsel Pursuant to Rule 8.2

X Inform Defendant Pursuant to Rule 8.3

X Accept Plea of "Not Guilty" or "Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity"

X Conduct Pretrial Release Inquiry Rules 9.1, 9.2 and 9.3

X Conduct Preliminary Hearing Pursuant to A.C A. 516-93-307

Digital Audio Recording Requirement

Digital audio recording equipment is not utilized to make a verbatim record of all matters

referred from the Circuit Court.

Specialty Court Dockets or Programs

Does a district court judge preside over a circuit court specialty court program?

· Yes x No

The following specialty courts are conducted: Drug Courts.

Type of Specialty Court Location

Montgomery County Drug Court 225 Fairgrounds Road, Mount Ida, AR

Polk County Drug Court 507 Church Ave., Mena, AR

a. Type of specialty docket and description of its operation:

The 18th West Judicial Circuit operates Drug Court in Montgomery and Polk

Counties. It is a post-adjudication Drug Court Program. Each participant is required to

enter a guilty or no contest plea and is placed on supervised probation under the

supervision of a certified probation officer through Arkansas Community Correction. As a

condition of the plea, each participant agrees to successfully complete the Drug Court

Program and pay a $600 program fee. Following their plea, each participant signs an

agreement which sets out the Drug Court rules and requirements. Failure to comply with

the rules and requirements may result in sanctions including, verbal warnings, essay

writing, community service, jail sanctions, court ordered in-patient rehabilitation, or time

at the Department of Community Correction.

Cases are court reviewed semi-monthly for phase one participants. Participants in upper

phases are reviewed monthly. The drug court treatment team staffs its cases prior to all

court reviews. The Drug Court Program adheres to National Association of Drug Court

Professionals Best Practice Standards.

b. Statutory or legal authority on which it is based: Arkansas Code Annotated section

16-98-301 et seq.

c. The Drug Court Program conforms to all applicable sentencing laws including fines,

fees, costs and assessments.

d. The Drug Court Team involves two counselors and one probation officer provided

by DCC. The team consists of the counselors, probation officer, the Prosecuting

Attorney or her designee, the Public Defender, and the Circuit Judge. Also,

representatives from law enforcement, mental health professionals, and adult

education sometimes attend staffing. Each of these persons was consulted in the

formation of the program and its operation. Scheduling was coordinated for

maximum attendance. All necessary resources are available.

Sources of funding: Program expenses are provided from the drug court fee collected

from each participant. These funds are expended under county budgetary procedures.

From time to time, drug screening expenses have been paid by the Prosecuting Attorney's

Drug Control Fund. Additional resources have been obtained from AOC and DCC when

available.