Arkansas judicial elections, 2014

Arkansas judicial elections, 2014
Total candidates:	139
Incumbents:	92
Unopposed:	93

2015 → ← 2013
Judicial Elections
Judicial elections, 2014
Judicial election dates
Candidates by state
Supreme court elections

Last updated: November 2014

The Arkansas judicial elections are nonpartisan and include all levels of courts. This state is unique in that its main election for judges is held early in the year--during the primary. The regular general election day in November is reserved for runoff elections for races in which no candidate receives a majority of the votes. See the Arkansas judicial elections page for more details.

2014 saw the election of one new supreme court justice, as well as fifteen contested circuit court races.

Election dates

• May 20: General election
• November 4: Runoff

In addition to candidate lists, this page includes information about how the state's judicial elections work, as well as articles about noteworthy news in races across the state.

Runoff

One race advanced to a runoff on November 4, 2014:

18th Circuit Court East, Division 2

• Wade Naramore, 52.8%A
• Cecilia Dyer, 47.2%A

Appellate court candidates

Want to learn more about one of the biggest judicial elections in Arkansas? Check out the Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2014 page for an in-depth exploration of the candidates, issues, politics and news surrounding the state's high court races in 2014.

Position 2

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
WynneRobin WynneA	No		52.0%   A
CullenTim Cullen (Arkansas)	No		48.0%   D

Unopposed	Judge Karen R. Baker (Position 6)

Unopposed	Rhonda Wood (Position 7)

Unopposed	Raymond Abramson (District 1, Position 1)

Unopposed	Judge Phillip Whiteaker (District 1, Position 2)

Unopposed	Bart Virden (District 2, Position 1)

Unopposed	Judge Kenneth Hixson (District 3, Position 2)

Unopposed	Judge Larry Vaught (District 6, Position 2)

Circuit court candidates

Arkansas 18th Judicial Circuit East

Unopposed	Judge John H. Wright (Division 1)

Division 2

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
NaramoreWade NaramoreA	No		28.7%   A
DyerCecilia Dyer	No		30.3%   D
CrawfordMichael H. Crawford	No		24.1%   D
HowardJohn Howard (Arkansas)	No		16.9%   D

Unopposed	Judge Lynn Williams (Division 3)

Unopposed	Judge Marcia Hearnsberger (Division 4)

Arkansas 11th Judicial Circuit West

Unopposed	Judge Robert Wyatt (Division 2)

Division 3

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
BentonWilliam Benton (Arkansas)A	Yes		51.7%   A
NortonMac Norton	No		48.3%   D

Division 5

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
DennisJodi DennisA	Yes		84.4%   A
SutterLuther Sutter	No		15.6%   D

Unopposed	Judge Earnest Brown (Division 6)

Arkansas Fifteenth Circuit

Unopposed	Judge Jerry Ramey (Division 1)

Unopposed	Judge David H. McCormick (Division 2)

Division 3

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
DanielsonBetsy Danielson	No		41.2%   D
SullivanTerry SullivanA	Yes		58.8%   A

Arkansas 5th Judicial Circuit

Unopposed	Judge Bill Pearson (Division 1)

Unopposed	Judge Gordon McCain (Division 2)

Unopposed	Judge Ken Coker (Division 3)

Arkansas 1st Judicial Circuit

Unopposed	Judge Richard L. Proctor (Division 2)

Division 3

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
AustinGary V. Austin	No		35.8%   D
MorledgeChristopher W. MorledgeA	No		64.2%   A

Division 5

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HudsonAnn B. HudsonA	Yes		74.3%   A
WhatleyJeanette Whatley	No		25.7%   D

Arkansas 4th Judicial Circuit

Division 1

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
MartinDoug MartinA	Yes		68.8%   A
LesterBrian Lester	No		31.2%   D

Unopposed	John Threet (Division 2)

Division 3

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
ZimmermanStacey ZimmermanA	Yes		60.67%   A
ParksLisa Parks	No		39.3%   D

Unopposed	Judge Cristi Beaumont (Division 4)

Unopposed	Judge Beth Storey Bryan (Division 5)

Arkansas 19th Judicial Circuit East

Division 1

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
JacksonScott JacksonA	No		65.7%   A
CrowKent Crow	Yes		34.3%   D

Arkansas 19th Judicial Circuit West

Unopposed	Judge Robin Green (Division 1)

Unopposed	Judge Brad Karren (Division 2)

Unopposed	Judge Tom E. Smith (Division 3)

Unopposed	Judge John Scott (Arkansas) (Division 4)

Unopposed	Judge Xollie Duncan (Division 5)

Unopposed	Judge Doug Schrantz (Division 6)

Arkansas 9th Judicial Circuit West

Unopposed	Judge Tom Cooper (Division 1)

Unopposed	Judge Charles Yeargan (Division 2)

Arkansas 2nd Judicial Circuit

Unopposed	Judge Pam Honeycutt (Division 1)

Division 2

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
FergusLee FergusA	Yes		71.7%   A
JesterChris Jester	No		28.3%   D

Unopposed	Judge Brent Davis (Division 3)

Unopposed	Judge Cindy Thyer (Division 4)

Unopposed	Judge Ralph Wilson (Arkansas) (Division 5)

Unopposed	Judge Barbara Halsey (Division 7)

Unopposed	Judge John Fogleman (Division 8)

Unopposed	Melissa Bristow Richardson (Division 9)

Division 10

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
RobertsonJeanette Robertson	No		42.9%   D
RitcheyDan RitcheyA	No		57.0%   A

Unopposed	Judge Randy Philhours (Division 11)

Arkansas 17th Judicial Circuit

Division 1

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
HughesTom HughesA	Yes		51.2%   A
FullerCarla Fuller	No		48.8%   D

Unopposed	Judge Robert Edwards (Arkansas) (Division 2)

Unopposed	Judge Craig Hannah (Division 3)

Arkansas 16th Judicial Circuit

Unopposed	Judge John Kemp (Division 1)

Unopposed	Judge Adam Harkey (Division 2)

Unopposed	Judge Lee Harrod (Division 3)

Unopposed	Judge Tim Weaver (Division 4)

Arkansas Tenth Circuit

Unopposed	Judge Sam Pope (Division 1)

Unopposed	Judge Kenny Johnson (Arkansas) (Division 2)

Unopposed	Judge Bynum Gibson (Division 3)

Arkansas 3rd Judicial Circuit

Unopposed	Judge Harold Erwin (Division 1)

Unopposed	Judge Philip Smith (Division 2)

Unopposed	Judge Kevin N. King (Division 3)

Arkansas 13th Judicial Circuit

Unopposed	Judge Edwin Keaton (Division 3)

Unopposed	Judge Robin Carroll (Division 4)

Unopposed	David W. Talley, Jr. (Division 5)

Unopposed	Judge David Guthrie (Division 6)

Arkansas 12th Judicial Circuit

Unopposed	Judge Stephen Tabor (Division 1)

Division 4

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
PostPaul Post	No		46.4%   D
ZuerkerLeigh ZuerkerA	No		53.6%   A

Unopposed	Judge Michael Fitzhugh (Division 5)

Unopposed	Judge James Cox (Division 6)

Arkansas 20th Judicial Circuit

Division 1

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
MurphyMike Murphy (Arkansas)A	No		51%   A
BrazilAmy Brazil	No		49%   D

Division 2

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
WinninghamJoe Don Winningham	No		49.8%   D
BraswellTroy BraswellA	No		50.2%   A

Unopposed	Judge Charles E. Clawson, Jr. (Division 3)

Division 4

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
ClarkDavid Clark (Arkansas)A	Yes		60.1%   A
ByrdAngela Byrd	No		39.9%   D

Division 5

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
FosterH.G. FosterA	Yes		57.8%   A
ChandlerDoralee Chandler	No		42.2%   D

Arkansas 22nd Judicial Circuit

Unopposed	Judge Bobby D. McCallister (Division 1)

Unopposed	Judge Gary Arnold (Division 2)

Unopposed	Judge Grisham Phillips (Division 3)

Unopposed	Judge Robert Herzfeld (Division 4)

District court candidates

Lawrence County Local District Court, Arkansas

Unopposed	Adam G. Weeks (Seat 1)

Scott County Local District Court, Arkansas

Unopposed	Judge Donald Goodner (Seat 1)

Washington County District Court, Arkansas

Fayetteville District Court

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
StoreyWilliam StoreyA	No		67.3%   A
SnivelyTim Snively	No		32.7%   D

Yell County District Court, Arkansas

Unopposed	Carol E. Collins (Northern District)

Process

Nonpartisan general election

Judicial candidates compete in a nonpartisan general election. These general elections take place on the same day as the primary elections for non-judge races in the state. If no candidate wins a majority, the two candidates with the most votes participate in a runoff. If a runoff is required, it takes place on the same day as the general election for partisan races, and runoff candidates appear on the general election ballot.

Filing

Candidates choose whether to file by petition or pay a filing fee.

Petition filing

There are different requirements for different courts for candidates filing by petition. In all cases, the "number of electors" refers to the number of electors in the district who voted for governor in the preceding election. Between the flat number of signatures or the percentage of electors, whichever amount is smaller is used.

• Supreme court: 10,000 signatures or 3 percent of the number of electors
• Court of appeals: 2,000 signatures or 3 percent of the number of electors
• Circuit court: 2,000 signatures or 3 percent of the number of electors
• District court: 2,000 signatures or 1 percent of the number of electors

Fee filing

The State Board of Election Commissioners established the following fees for candidates not filing by petition. The candidate pays the fee to the secretary of state upon filing:

• Chief justice of the supreme court: 6 percent of the annual salary
• Associate justice of the supreme court: 6 percent of the annual salary
• Court of appeals: 5 percent of the annual salary
• Circuit court: 4 percent of the annual salary
• State district court: 3 percent of the annual salary

Local district judges have separate filing fees, decided by the locality.

Noteworthy events

The following articles were current as of the dates listed.

Arkansas challenges ruling striking down voter ID law July 10, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Kidnapping, runoffs and voter ID Earlier this year, a Pulaski County judge struck down a voting law in Arkansas. The state then challenged his ruling. Lawyers for Secretary of State Mark Martin argued that, in ruling the law unconstitutional, the judge did not follow court-mandated guidelines. As noted in a previous issue of the Election Brief, Sixth Circuit Judge Tim Fox ruled the state's new voter ID law unconstitutional. He also ruled that the law, Act 595, was approved illegally. He wrote that such a law could not create a new qualification to vote, and that requiring voters to show a photo ID is a new qualification. He further said that the legislature did not meet a required two-thirds vote threshold in approving the law. Martin's lawyers, also representing the State Board of Election Commissioners, argued in a supreme court filing on July 3 that Fox was using an incorrect standard to evaluate the law. They wrote that he should have found the law a legal "procedural requirement," which helps poll workers to match voters with the names on the voter-registration rolls. According to the brief: “ When those comparisons confirm that the voter is who he claims to be rather than an imposter, then the public can rest assured that the person is lawfully registered to vote in the election. ” —Brief filed by lawyers for the state Democratic Attorney General Dustin McDaniel joined Martin, a Republican, in the appeal of Fox's ruling. Democratic Governor Mike Beebe had previously vetoed the law before the Republican legislature overrode his veto. Fox had issued a stay of his ruling, keeping the law in effect for the May judicial elections. Concern arose on how the supreme court ruling would effect a race between two circuit court candidates, Wade Naramore and Cecilia Dyer, who competed in a runoff election in November.

Circuit court challenger criticizes incumbent's administration of sobriety court May 15, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Candidate attacks A candidate for the Twentieth Circuit in Arkansas crticized incumbent Amy Brazil’s handling of repeat DWI offenders. Brazil created a sobriety court in 2011 while serving on the Faulkner County District Court, in order to provide an alternate means for sentencing repeat offenders, but challenger Mike Murphy (New Mexico) spoke against the court. The court kept offenders out of jail, Murphy stated, but failed to accomplish the court's stated goals- to provide violators with alcohol treatment services and close supervision. The sobriety court was based in Conway, where Murphy is the city attorney, and his office prosecutes most DWI cases in the district court. Murphy released a statement alleging that he asked Brazil to allow the city attorney’s office to be involved with the sobriety court, but she declined. Brazil campaigned for election to the Twentieth Circuit court in 2012. She lost the election, but Governor Mike Beebe subsequently appointed her to the Twentieth Circuit, also based in Faulkner County. “ I feel confident that if I had been elected in 2012 the program would be fully implemented by now and working to help individuals obtain sobriety, which would benefit not only them, but our entire community. ” —Amy Brazil According to Murphy, a judge may order a defendant to perform community service instead of sentencing them to mandatory time in jail for a DWI offense. However, under state law, judges must provide a written order explaining their reasons for doing so. He noted the case files for participants in the sobriety court did not include this written documentation. The Log Cabin Democrat newspaper reported on several concerns associated with Brazil’s administration of the sobriety court. According to court documents cited by the newspaper, some charges were reduced from a DWI to DUI and, in several cases, offenders did not serve mandatory minimum sentences. Deputy County Court Clerk Cindy Nutter, who was on the sobriety court team, said that Brazil made decisions independently that were typically decided among the full team—specifically, which offenders qualified for sobriety court. Nutter noted that some offenders participated in the sobriety court before they were convicted, which she said contradicted her training. Information regarding Brazil in a Women’s Inc. Voter’s Guide, from 2012, also referenced Brazil's approach. The guide stated that, "Judge Brazil has modified treatment of DWI defendants by continuing to monitor their progress after their conviction." This description was consistent with Nutter’s account regarding post-conviction supervision practices. A public defender who served on the sobriety court team, Dustin Chapman, noted the sobriety court program was taking shape under Brazil. According to Chapman, those working with the sobriety court received training and a model existed for how the court would work. Some processes were also implemented. He told the Log Cabin Democrat, “ We had breath monitors in their houses and required 12-step programs— it was innovative stuff that had not been done before. [Sobriety Court] never came to the goal we were working toward, but it wasn’t a fiction either. ” —Dustin Chapman

Judge finds state's voter ID law unconstitutional May 8, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Judicial voting round-up On April 24, Judge Tim Fox of the Sixth Circuit in Pulaski County ruled that 2013’s Act 595 violated the Arkansas Constitution. He also ruled that the act was approved illegally. Act 595, passed by the Arkansas State Legislature, made the state one of 16 to require voters to show photo identification at polling places. The lawsuit challenging Act 595 was filed by the state's American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter and the Arkansas Law Center, with four voters as plaintiffs. Lawyers for the offices of the attorney general and secretary of state argued that the law did not impose new qualifications, but was a new procedural mechanism. The constitutional debate over the law centered on whether the legislature may disqualify voters who do not produce photo identification at the polls. Article 3 of the state's constitution has requirements based on age, residency, citizenship and registration, but Fox found that the legislature must make new changes in the registration process, not new requirements at polling places. Poll workers were already allowed to ask for identification, but could not disqualify a voter for failing to provide it. Governor Mike Beebe previously vetoed the bill on constitutional grounds. His veto was overruled by the Republican-dominated legislature. However, Fox found that the legislature failed to override the governor's veto with the required two-thirds majority of both chambers. He also found that voters may not be required to produce something at the polls that they were not required to produce at the time they registered to vote. Fox’s decision was appealed to the state supreme court. In April 2014, Fox stayed his decision, saying the 75 county election commissions in the state would not have time to comply with his ruling before this week’s commencement of early voting. He also cited a possible appeal and the possible lack of time for the supreme court to decide whether to issue its own stay. Without the supreme court ruling on the case, poll workers required voters to provide photo identification in order to vote. Any voter who lacked identification was only allowed to cast a provisional ballot. The voter then had to prove his or her identity at the county clerk’s office, to validate the vote, before counting was finished. Of the 16 states which have laws requiring voters to produce identification, eight have similar voter ID laws that prevent a voter from casting their ballot if they fail to provide the required identification.

Early voting underway in Arkansas May 8, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Judicial voting round-up Judicial elections in Arkansas occur on the same day as the primary elections for non-judicial races. This means all judicial races in the state in 2014, were on the ballot on May 20. However, early voting began on Monday, May 5, and lasted until May 19, giving everyone in Arkansas two weeks to cast their votes. Though many judicial candidates ran unopposed, there were also contested races in 2014. First, there were three open seats on the Arkansas Supreme Court, one of which was a contested race between Robin Wynne and Tim Cullen, running for retiring Justice Donald Corbin's seat. Justice Karen Baker ran unopposed for re-election. Rhonda Wood was unopposed to win retired Justice Robert L. Brown's seat. Cliff Hoofman who held Brown's seat since January 1, 2013, could not run for election because he was appointed to the position. For more information on supreme court elections, please see: Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2014. Thirteen out of the 23 state circuit courts had races with more than one candidate. Here were some of the contested races: In the First Circuit, Gary V. Austin and Christopher W. Morledge ran for Division 3. Jeanette Whatley ran against incumbent Ann B. Hudson, who held the Division 5 position since 2009. In the Second Circuit, incumbent Lee Fergus was challenged by Chris Jester. The Division 10 judge, Larry Boling, did not run for re-election. Jeanette Robertson and Dan Ritchey vied for that seat. In the Fourth Circuit, Brian Lester ran against incumbent Doug Martin and Lisa Parks ran against incumbent Stacey Zimmerman. Ernest Sanders, Jr. and Mike Reif ran for the Division 13 judgeship in the Sixth Circuit. In the Eleventh Circuit West, Judge William Benton was challenged by Mac Norton. Paul Post and Leigh Zuerker ran for retired Judge Mark Hewett's Division 4 position on the Twelfth Circuit. The two candidates running for the Fourteenth Circuit, Division 2 seat were Jodi Carney and Deanna S. Evans. Terry Sullivan ran for re-election to the Fifteenth Circuit, Division 3 against Betsy Danielson. In the Seventeenth Circuit, Carla Fuller challenged Division 1 Judge Tom Hughes. Four candidates ran for Judge Vicki Cook's seat on the Eighteenth Circuit East. Cook retired after 21 years on the bench. The candidates were: Cecilia Dyer, John Howard, Michael H. Crawford and Wade Naramore. The only judge for the Nineteenth Circuit East, Kent Crow, was challenged by Scott Jackson. Four of the five divisions in the Twentieth Circuit were contested races. Amy Brazil and Mike Murphy ran for Division 1. Joe Don Winningham faced Troy Braswell for Division 2. Incumbent David Clark was challenged by Angela Byrd. Finally, Doralee Chandler and H.G. Foster ran for the Division 5 seat. In the Twenty-Third Circuit, the race for Division 2 was between Ashley Parker and Larry K. Cook.

Will late payments keep some Arkansas judicial candidates from running for election? April 3, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Who's qualified? Courts, candidates and special interest groups all want a say Judge John Cole cited Amendment 80 of the Arkansas Constitution in ruling that Valerie Thompson Bailey, a lawyer from Little Rock, was ineligible to run for a seat on the Sixth Circuit Court in Pulaski County, Arkansas. Bailey's license was suspended for nine years when she lived out of state and was not practicing law. Her law license was reactivated in November 2011. However, a lawsuit filed by a voter alleged Bailey was not qualified to serve on the court because she had not held her license to practice law for six years before becoming a judge. Cole ruled Bailey must be disqualified from the ballot. Her license was reactivated after being suspended, but it had been less than three years since the suspension ended. According to Cole, the fact that her license was suspended for administrative, not disciplinary, reasons made no difference. Tim Fox, a judge for the Sixth Circuit Court who was to have faced Bailey during the election, had also previously had his license suspended. That suspension lasted for approximately one month in 2013 when he failed to pay his state licensing fees. Other candidates whose licenses have been suspended for the same reason include: Faulkner County Circuit Judge H.G. Foster, who ran against Little Rock lawyer Doralee Chandler and Judge Rhonda Wood of the Court of Appeals, who ran unopposed for the Arkansas Supreme Court. Foster said he had since paid his dues. However, Chandler filed suit in the Sixth Circuit, saying Foster’s candidacy violated Amendment 80. In a news release, she alleged Foster failed to pay dues not only last year, but in four of the past six years. Rhonda Wood was running unopposed for a seat on the Arkansas Supreme Court. According to an e-mail sent to Judgepedia by a clerk at the Arkansas Supreme Court, state licensing fees were due and payable by March 1. In 2008, Wood reportedly did not pay her state licensing fees until March 13, 2008. Attorneys and judges in Arkansas must pay their state licensing fees annually. However, membership in the Arkansas Bar Association is voluntary and not related to the state's required licensing fee. Wood was elected to the Arkansas Court of Appeals in 2012. In order to qualify to serve on the appeals court, Amendment 80 requires judges on that court to hold a law license in the state for at least eight years. According to the Arkansas Judiciary's website, Wood was admitted to practice in Arkansas on August 31, 1999. Amendment 80 of the Arkansas Constitution states in part: "A justice of the Supreme Court shall be a licensed attorney for at least eight years immediately preceding the date of assuming office." Wood failed to meet the eight-year requirement in her current bid for a seat on the supreme court, by about a year and two months, since she would have taken office in January 2015.

Majority of justices on the Arkansas Supreme Court next year will be women March 27, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Women successful in judicial races as incumbents face challengers Three seats are up for election on the Arkansas Supreme Court in the 2014 election. The deadline for candidates to file was on March 3, 2014. Only one seat was being contested. Justice Donald Corbin, who holds Position 2 on the court, retired at the end of his term in 2014. An Arkansas appellate lawyer, Tim Cullen, and Robin Wynne, a judge for the Arkansas Court of Appeals at the time of the 2014 election, ran for Corbin's seat in the primary on May 20. Position 7, which was held by Robert L. Brown until he retired last year, was filled by the Governor's appointee, Cliff Hoofman. Since he was appointed to the position, Hoofman cannot run for the seat. Rhonda Wood, also on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, is running for the seat well before the election. She received the endorsement of the State Chamber of Commerce on July 8, 2013. No other opponents signed on to challenge Wood for the seat, which meant the court saw its first female majority after the 2014 election results. Between 1975 and 1996, two women sat on the Arkansas high court as appointees. However, a women wasn't elected to the court until 1997. Annabelle Imber Tuck sat on the court until her retirement in 2009. Justice Karen Baker also ran unopposed to keep her current seat, Position 6. Two other women, Courtney Hudson Goodson and Josephine Hart currently sit on the court, along with Baker. In 2015, the Arkansas Supreme Court brought the number of high courts around the nation, with a majority of women holding seats, to 10.

See also

• Arkansas judicial elections
• Arkansas Supreme Court elections, 2014
• Judicial selection in Arkansas

External links

• Arkansas Secretary of State, "Elections"

Footnotes

Arkansas courts

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Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Arkansas, Western District of Arkansas

State courts:

Arkansas Supreme Court • Arkansas Court of Appeals • Arkansas Circuit Courts • Arkansas District Courts • Arkansas City Courts

State resources:

Courts in Arkansas • Arkansas judicial elections • Judicial selection in Arkansas