A question posed to the Arkansas Supreme Court in a whistleblower case out of Sebastian County Circuit Court was answered by that judicial body on Thursday, which remanded the case back to the Court of Appeals.
The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that the state Court of Appeals can hear an appeal in the case of a Don Paul Bales, a Fort Smith police officer who was fired in 2014 for sharing a confidential affidavit for an arrest Bales believed could have violated police procedure because an undercover officer had sex with the prostitute he later arrested.
After Bales was fired by the Fort Smith Police Department for providing confidential information about a police matter to his attorney and allegedly lying about it, the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission upheld Bales’ firing in 2014.
Bales filed an appeal with the Sebastian County Circuit Court and in the Fall of 2015, a Sebastian County circuit judge dismissed Bales’ appeal,citing the circuit court lack of jurisdiction.
Bales then filed an appeal with the state Court of Appeals and the appellate court submitted a question to the state Supreme Court, asking whether the proper venue for the appeal was the Court of Appeals or the Supreme Court.
Thursday, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court said the appellate court has jurisdiction
Bales originally gave the affidavit in question to his attorney, who posted a redacted version online, after receiving a photo of it from a concerned officer who had seen it at the county detention center.
Bales was allegedly fired, the police department says, for sharing the confidential affidavit with his lawyer, saying he revealed the identity of the undercover officer to his attorney and may have put his life in danger, and because he lied about giving his attorney the information.
Bales argued in his original lawsuit after his termination that police department policy required him to report possible misconduct by a fellow officer. He stated before providing the affidavit to his attorney he reported the incident to his captain, who reportedly told Bale he didn’t think the undercover officer violated any department policies.
