Pulaski Prosecutor Larry Jegley has closed an investigation without filing charges against Supreme Court Justice Jim Gunter. Gunter’s sister had filed a complaint with the Hempstead County sheriff’s office that he had struck her during a family dispute in 2007. The case was turned over to a special prosecutor because the local prosecutor recused. Gunter’s sister, who lives in Florida, was reluctant to press the case because their elderly father is still alive and didn’t want the case pursued.
The lack of prosecution doesn’t mean there cannot be action against Gunter by the state Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission. It is likely, based on general practice, that it has been awaiting completion of the criminal investigation before deciding its next move. It could investigate on the strength of the criminal complaint filed at Hope even if Gunter’s sister wasn’t willing to co-operate.
The case file included the photograph of the sister, Janet Gibson, when she filed the complaint. She said Gunter had hit her hard enough to knock her into a dresser. Another photo showed a bruise on her back.
Gunter didn’t talk to authorities, but according to a letter from Gibson to Jegley, he contended their contact during an argument in the family home was an “accident brought on by provocation on my part.” He claimed, she said, that he had a “reflex action” to her touching him. In a letter Aug. 5, she wrote, “I cannot understand his new story of a ‘reflex action’ to validate that back-handed fist to my face.”
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