The Supreme Court has made quick work of the appeal of a lower court ruling last week on Bill Halter’s residency. He stays on the ballot as a Dem. candidate for lt. gov.
To do the learned words injustice, we boil it down to this: residency is a state of mind more than place. The court said Halter had never abandoned his Arkansas domicile. Interesting small point: the court declined to settle the question of whether the seven years of residence required in the Constitution for governors and lt. govs must be the seven years immediately preceding an election. Since, as a matter of law, the court agreed that Halter had continuously been an Arkansas resident, it said it didn’t need to determine that point. So Asa Hutchinson’s residency remains at least slightly in question, though we’d urge any Democrats to let it slide. A concurring opinion by JusticeRobert Brown questioned the wisdom of accepting such late challenges.
Justice Tom Glaze’s decision can be found on the jump.