Washington County Quorum Court

Quorum Court is the name given to the group of the individuals that serve as Justice of the Peace for their respective districts in the state of Arkansas. The Court in Washington County consists of fifteen (15) individuals, one (1) for each district in the County. These individuals serve two (2) year terms and are elected by popular vote within the district they serve.

JP's, once elected, are added to committees by the sitting County Judge. These committees meet monthly to discuss County business and build recommendations that are then passed to the full Court. These recommendations are called Ordinances which, if passed, establish polices and exceptions that run County Business.

Public Engagement

Every JP is assigned an email from the County and the public is invited to send feedback and questions at any time. These emails can be found on the County website at the above link. The public is also invited to attend both Committee and full Court meetings - see the schedule here and click on a meeting to see the agenda. Every meeting has periods of Public Comments, a twelve (12) to fifteen (15) minute period where people can speak for up to three (3) minutes in front of the Court and audience.

Current ordinances establish rules for the Public Comments period and make it an uncomfortable experience for most people.

The public can only address the chair of the meeting and can not address any of the sitting JPs directly.
The Court is not allowed to respond to either comments or questions.
The Comments are held at periods that do not support engagement. Outside of general periods for comments, each issue holds comments after the period of debate for the JPs and just before the final vote.

Taken together, the rules and structure invite you to make comments and then setup a situation that is intimidating, leaves no room for immediate feedback, and essentially eliminates the potential for meaningful consideration or debate.