by Brenda Vassaur Taylor, JD, LLM*
“(The) Washington County Law Library…provided legal resources for attorneys and a Legal Help Desk staffed by pro bono attorneys that helped poor people with legal problems when they could not afford private attorneys.”
This is how the Washington County Law Library was described by Beth Coger, a three term Washington County Justice of the Peace, who is among the many among us lamenting what has happened to the law library over the past year.
By Arkansas law, the County’s Law Library is meant to be overseen by a board of Washington County attorneys, nominated by the Washington County Bar Association, and confirmed by the Quorum Court. Prior to March of 2025, this is exactly how the Law Library was managed (for decades). However, in March of 2025, it was discovered by its newest member to the Board (Judge Deakins’ deputy county attorney, Catherine Baker) that the oaths of office for the Law Library Board had not been filed with the Clerk, which is a legal requirement.
On these grounds, County Judge Patrick Deakins illegally replaced four of the five board members with his own appointees, and that new board appears to have taken only a single vote – to shut down operation of the Washington County Law Library.
Notice of this vote to dissolve was sent to the previous board in the same email in which they were informed that they had been replaced, in March of 2025.
Shutting down boards while ignoring the law seems to be the usual mode of operation for Judge Deakins. But the Law Library is a statutory entity established under Ark. Code Ann. §16-23-101 through §105, receiving its funding from a percentage of the costs levied on civil and criminal cases filed in Washington County. The 2025 County Budget passed in December of 2024 indicates the library’s fund to be around $529,000. However, the County Treasurer’s Report from December 31, 2025, shows a law library fund balance of only $323,261.
Where did the money go?
Under Arkansas law, only the dually appointed Board of the Law Library is authorized to spend law library funds, and as there has been no operational board since March 2025, there ought also to have been no expenditures.
Kelsey Boggan, President of the Washington County Bar Association, who is currently in a lawsuit with Judge Deakins over this issue, moved swiftly to appoint new members to the Law Library Board, to get it up and running for public use again. However, Deakins has stymied her attempts to replace the Board, and as of Boggan’s legal filing in October 2025, the WCBA’s nominees had still not been presented to the Washington County Quorum Court for approval.
Her final list of nominees was submitted at the beginning of July.
In the interim between July and October, there seems to have been some odd expenditures from the Law Library account: ~$36k for a privately-owned vehicle, $25k for painting the detention center, and ~$5k for a dishwasher.
Of course, these expenditures only add up to around $66,000, leaving some $140,000 unaccounted for.
Perhaps there is an innocent explanation for the missing funds (and possibly missing law books and other personal property items). And if there is, I’m sure the public would love to hear it.
In the meantime, Judge Deakins ought to move quickly to reimburse the Fund for his wrongful use of those funds (and assets), as well as allow the Quorum Court to confirm the WCBA’s nominees to the Law Library Board, enabling it to open again to its intended users.
Please see the timeline below for details. (The lawsuit mentioned may be found in the Circuit Court of Washington County, Civil Div; Kelsey Boggan v. Patrick Deakins, et al; No. 72CV-25-4761.)
*Vassaur Taylor is an Arkansas licensed attorney and long-time member of the Washington County Bar Association.
