Halfacre v. Kelley, 2017 Ark. 3

Appellant Kenny Halfacre appealed the denial of his petition to proceed in forma pauperis in Lincoln County Circuit Court and sought supplementation of the record with certified file‑marked copies of the order and relevant pleadings.
This Court granted Halfacre’s motion for rule on clerk and ordered the record supplemented with file‑marked documents in accordance with Administrative Order No. 2(b)(2).
The Lincoln County Circuit Clerk, Cindy Glover, returned the record with the documents stamped “received” instead of “filed.”
The Court ordered Ms. Glover to show cause why she should not be held in contempt; she pleaded not guilty and a special master (Judge John Mauzy Pittman) was appointed to hear the matter and make findings.
The special master found a longstanding local practice of marking inmate pleadings “received” when in‑forma‑pauperis status had been denied and that a clerk’s office employee misunderstood the Court’s order; he also found that Ms. Glover implemented new procedures to ensure future compliance.
The Court adopted the special master’s findings, concluded no willful violation occurred, admonished Ms. Glover, and dismissed the order to show cause.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the circuit clerk willfully disobeyed the Court’s order to provide file‑marked records	Halfacre argued the clerk failed to comply with the Court’s order by returning records marked “received” instead of “filed.”	Glover (via special master findings) argued the markings resulted from long‑standing local practice and employee misunderstanding, not willful disobedience.	The Court held there was no willful violation; adopted special master findings.
Appropriate sanction for noncompliance	Halfacre sought enforcement and accountability for failure to comply.	Glover accepted responsibility and proposed corrective measures.	The Court admonished Glover and dismissed the order to show cause.
Whether corrective procedures were adequate to prevent recurrence	Implicitly argued that compliance must be ensured by corrective measures or sanctions.	Glover implemented new procedures (e.g., routing Court correspondence to county attorney; ensuring documents are marked “filed”).	The Court accepted the new procedures as mitigating and supportive of dismissal of contempt proceedings.

Halfacre v. Kelley, 2016 Ark. 71 (per curiam) (court granted rule on clerk and ordered supplementation of record)
Halfacre v. Kelley, 2016 Ark. 171 (per curiam) (court issued order to show cause to the circuit clerk for failure to comply)
Halfacre v. Kelley, 2016 Ark. 237 (per curiam) (court appointed special master to investigate and make findings)