Suspended judge is reinstated after acquittal in hot-car death of his son
A suspended Arkansas judge who was acquitted last summer in the hot-car death of his son has been reinstated to the bench.
The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the reinstatement of Judge Wade Naramore of Garland County on Thursday, report Arkansas Online and the Associated Press. The court added one proviso: Naramore should not be assigned to any dependency and neglect cases.
Jurors acquitted Naramore last August on a charge of misdemeanor negligent homicide for the July 2015 death of his 17-month-old son. Naramore had testified he “lost awareness” that his son was in the car and forgot to drop him off at day care.
Naramore had told police he was worried about a court case on the day in question. When he went to pick up his son from day care at the end of the day, he realized that the boy still was in his car seat.
Naramore had continued to receive his $160,000 annual pay, as required by state law, since his suspension after his arrest in February 2016. The state also paid about $69,000 for special judges to serve in his place during the suspension, Arkansas Online reported.
Naramore could return to the bench as early as Monday. Meanwhile, the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission continues to investigate the matter.
