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Suspended Judge Bobby McCallister Asks for Hearing

2 min read

Suspended Saline County Circuit Judge Bobby McCallister has asked for a hearing in front of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission, where he’s facing disciplinary charges tied to allegations of tax evasion.

“At the conclusion of the hearing, Judge McCallister prays that JDDC considers all facts in determining whether the alleged violations … have occurred,” McCallister’s attorney, criminal defense lawyer Patrick Benca of Little Rock, said in the Monday filing with the JDDC. “If violations are found to have occurred, McCallister prays that the JDDC consider all facts and mitigating circumstances in deciding the appropriate disciplinary option.”

Benca did not immediately return a call from Arkansas Business on Tuesday morning.

In the filing, McCallister said he made a statement during a 2015 deposition that he had not filed income tax returns for “most of the years” since 1995. But he denied that the statements “constitute an admission to tax evasion or other felony violations,” the filing said.

Last month, the Arkansas Supreme Court temporarily suspended McCallister, after he was charged in Saline County Circuit Court with four felony counts related to tax evasion. Saline County Special Prosecuting Attorney David Gibbons filed the charges alleging McCallister failed to pay or file state taxes for the years 2012-14 and 2016. If convicted, McCallister faces up to six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 on each count.

The trial is set for Nov. 6 and 7 in the Saline County Courthouse in front of Circuit Judge David Laser, who was specially appointed for the case.

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