JOHN THURSTON, IN HIS OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS ARKANSAS SECRETARY OF STATE AND LESLIE RUTLEDGE, IN HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY AS ARKANSAS ATTORNEY GENERAL v. SAFE SURGERY ARKANSAS, A BALLOT QUESTION COMMITTEE AND DR. LAURIE BARBER, INDIVIDUALLY AND ON BEHALF OF SAFE SURGERY ARKANSAS, 619 S.W.3d 1

Background

Safe Surgery Arkansas (SSA) seeks to sponsor initiatives for the November 2022 ballot and must register paid canvassers before collecting signatures.
Arkansas Code § 7-9-601(b) requires sponsors to obtain from the Division of Arkansas State Police (ASP) a current state and federal criminal-record search within 30 days before canvassing and to certify each paid canvasser has "passed" a background check.
Testimony and special-master findings in related cases (Miller; Arkansans for Healthy Eyes) established that the ASP does not and cannot provide the federal-background-checks contemplated by the statute, making compliance with the § 7-9-601(b) federal-check and certification requirements impossible.
SSA sued in Pulaski County seeking a TRO and a preliminary injunction declaring § 7-9-601(b) unconstitutional and enjoining its enforcement; the circuit court granted a preliminary injunction enjoining the Secretary of State and Attorney General from applying § 7-9-601(b).
The State (Thurston) appealed, arguing the dispute was not justiciable and that the injunction was erroneous and overbroad; the Arkansas Supreme Court affirmed the preliminary injunction.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Justiciability	SSA: present injury — inability to register paid canvassers for 2022; imminent harm to petition efforts.	Thurston: claim speculative; no present controversy because initiative process not yet underway.	Court: justiciable; preliminary-injunction posture does not require full proof and SSA showed present controversy.
Likelihood of success — statutory interpretation / impossibility	SSA: §7-9-601(b)(1)–(3) impossible to comply with because ASP cannot provide federal checks; thus statute conflicts with Amendment 7 (unwarranted restrictions).	Thurston: statute valid under Amendment 7; compliance can be achieved (certify state checks or use ASP fingerprinting procedure; Miller reading allows certification of having "passed").	Court: affirmed circuit court — evidence supports that ASP cannot provide the federal checks; because (b)(1) is impossible, (b)(3) certification is likewise impossible; SSA likely to succeed on the merits.
Irreparable harm	SSA: time and money expended; inability to begin petition-circulation for 2022; monetary relief inadequate.	Thurston: prior practice shows sponsors registered canvassers and collected signatures; no proof antifraud provisions have blocked SSA.	Court: SSA showed irreparable harm; circuit court findings not clearly erroneous; injunction appropriate to avoid loss of initiative opportunity.
Scope / severability of injunction	SSA: federal-check requirement is inseparable from the rest of §7-9-601(b); entire subsection should be enjoined.	Thurston: court could excise only the federal-check language or preserve state-check requirement; injunction is overbroad.	Court: provisions of §7-9-601(b) are interrelated and intended as a unit; without severability clause and given legislative intent, enjoining entire subsection was not an abuse of discretion.

Key Cases Cited

Miller v. Thurston, 605 S.W.3d 255 (Ark. 2020) (interpreting §7-9-601 certification requirement; holding mere acquisition of checks insufficient).
Arkansans for Healthy Eyes v. Thurston, 606 S.W.3d 582 (Ark. 2020) (applied Miller to SSA petition language; found certification failed to show canvassers "passed" checks).
City of Jacksonville v. Smith, 540 S.W.3d 661 (Ark. 2018) (preliminary-injunction posture can present a justiciable controversy without full merits resolution).
Jegley v. Picado, 80 S.W.3d 332 (Ark. 2002) (standing/justiciability where statute applies to plaintiffs and threat of enforcement exists).
Ex parte Levy, 163 S.W.2d 529 (Ark. 1942) (severability principles; when parts of a statute are invalid, determine whether remainder can stand independently).
McGhee v. Arkansas State Board of Collection Agencies, 289 S.W.3d 18 (Ark. 2008) (test for whether invalidity of part of act invalidates whole: single purpose and interdependence of sections).