Opinion No.

The Honorable John Norman Harkey Circuit Judge, Sixteenth Judicial District P.O. Box 2656 Batesville, Arkansas 7203

Dear Judge Harkey:

I am writing in response to your request for an opinion on the following question:

Do I, in my capacity as circuit judge of the 16th Judicial District, have the authority to order officers in another judicial district to serve civil papers and bring before me a person who lives in that other district?

RESPONSE

It is clear, in my opinion, that the answer to this question under the common law is "no." The case law indicates, however, that such power may be conferred…