Opinion No.

The Honorable Jerry Bookout State Senator P.O. Box 415 Jonesboro, AR 72401

Dear Senator Bookout:

This is in response to your request for an opinion regarding whether county assessors are permitted to testify as expert witnesses in condemnation cases.

I am aware of no law prohibiting this practice, and my research has disclosed several condemnation cases in which a county assessor testified. See Arkansas State Highway Comm. v.Johns, 236 Ark. 585, 367 S.W.2d 436 (1963); Union County v.Richardson, 225 Ark. 997, 287 S.W.2d 1 (1956); and WashingtonCounty v. Day, 196 Ark. 147, 116 S.W.2d 1051 (1938).…