A northwest Arkansas newspaper published an editorial last Friday (9/4/15) that stated "Attorney General Leslie Rutledge botched an interpretation of the state's open records law, a decision that helps prevent scrutiny of an appointment decision made by Gov. Asa Hutchinson".
The editorial blasts a hole in Rutledge's argument that "the public does not have a compelling interest in these documents", by stating since Hamlet was selected by Hutchinson for a lead position in a powerful state agency, although she may view the infraction as minor, it was enough to get him fired and that is significant now that he is in a role of greater responsibility. It also points out that the evaluation of public interest cannot be thoroughly considered on the basis of time's passage. Being a gubernatorial appointee to a state agency reinvigorates the public's interest and should, to a reasonable person, reactivate the public nature of those employee evaluations and job performance records.
We suspect that Rutledge will attempt to settle the lawsuit filed to obtain access to the documents, lest she lose a case brought against her by a self-represented, non-attorney citizen. A loss in a case of this nature would be a death blow to any chance she would have at re-election. Who wants to have an Attorney General that can't win a case she could have avoided by using common sense and following the laws of the state?
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******UPDATE******
The Arkansas Times has written some interesting and enlightening stories about Rutledge...
#1 - Leslie Rutledge is not fit to be Attorney General
#2 - Rutledge registered to vote in two states
Blue Nation Review ran a story about emails obtained from when Rutledge was a staff attorney with the Arkansas Department of Human Services. They state "her emails read like a sex-crazed adolescent".
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Here are a few screen shots of the emails courtesy of the Freedom of Information Act...
