Griffin: ‘Today’s decision by the Pulaski County Circuit Court is the legally proper, but unfortunate, outcome after the town of Allport repeatedly failed to substantially comply with state law’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued a statement today after a Pulaski County Circuit Court judge granted Griffin’s motion for summary judgment to revoke the town of Allport’s charter:

“Today’s decision by the Pulaski County Circuit Court is the legally proper, but unfortunate, outcome after the town of Allport repeatedly failed to substantially comply with state law. Under state law, I am required to seek revocation of a town’s charter when the Arkansas Legislative Joint Auditing Committee notifies me of those repeated failures.”

Background

The Legislative Joint Auditing Committee twice, within three years, notified Allport of its failure to comply with the state’s laws regarding how municipalities account for spending tax dollars. On September 24, 2020, the Committee notified the former Attorney General of these facts. Upon notification, “[t]he Attorney General shall file pleadings . . . to revoke the charter of the municipal corporation.”

Griffin’s predecessor failed to seek revocation of Allport’s charter, but instead sought an alternative remedy that was not allowed by statute. In February 2023, one month after taking office as Attorney General, Griffin filed a new lawsuit to revoke Allport’s charter, ultimately leading to the decision by the Pulaski County Circuit Court today.

To read today’s order, click here.

For a printer-friendly version of this release, click here.

About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née Bragg), North Carolina, and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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