Karen Cooper and Jack Dowell, Petitioners v. Circuit Court of Faulkner County, Respondent

Summary

The court denied prohibition but granted certiorari because the circuit court’s order barred the landowners from filing any further pleadings until they paid litigation-related fees and costs, thereby denying access to the court without a basis in the record. The court held that certiorari was appropriate because the order was not final and the landowners had no adequate alternative remedy, and it directed rescission of the entire order because its conditions were inextricably intertwined. Justice Danielson, concurring, agreed with the disposition but emphasized that courts may restrict access in limited circumstances involving proven abusive or vexatious litigation.