The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette’s Jeannie Roberts first reported news of an Arkansas Court of Appeals ruling that had the result of leaving a juvenile court judge on the state Child Maltreatment Registry.
In the case of W.N. versus the Department of Human
Naramore was placed on the registry by the State Police after a finding of neglect by inadequate supervision. A jury acquitted him of a negligent homicide charge in the death in which he said he’d had an inexplicable lapse of memory.
Placement on the list can sometimes affect employment. Organizations that have children in their care, such as schools and day care organizations can find out about such placements in screening.
Naramore lost appeals of the listing to both an administrative law judge and then Pulaski Circuit Court. The Court of Appeals upheld the lower court in an opinion that said evidence was sufficient to justify a finding of “neglect by inadequate supervision.”
Neither Naramore nor his lawyer
Would placement on the registry affect a judge’s ability to hear juvenile delinquency cases, as Naramore does? In this case, no.
That question is believed to have been under review by a judicial discipline agency in Arkansas after Naramore was acquitted, but the investigation was closed after the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Naramore could return to the bench after his acquittal. The Supreme Court said, however, that he could not hear abuse and neglect cases. The Supreme Court was aware of the pending issue over listing on the maltreatment
The facts of Naramore’s case could provide fodder for others contesting placement on the registry in the future.