An attorney general’s opinion today says there is no statutory authority for sitting justices of the peace to charge a fee for performing a marriage and it likely would be unconstitutional if a county tried to authorize it. Now what if somebody should donate money to a JP as a gratuity? That would be a matter for the Arkansas Ethics Commission to decide. There’s also a gray area about payments to former JPs who retained the right to marry after leaving office under an old statute when a small fee was allowed by law.
Know any JPs charging a fee or accepting cash to perform marriages? Tell them to quit.
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