The following is a list of justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court. Article VI, Section 1, of the Arkansas Constitution of 1836 established a Supreme Court; Section 2 declared it would consist of three judges, including a chief justice.[1]
The Reconstruction Constitution of 1868, which placed the state under military control, added two justices; the Arkansas Constitution of 1874 rolled back the expansion, but stipulated that once the population of the state should "amount to one million, the General Assembly may, if deemed necessary, increase the number of judges of the Supreme Court to five."[1] In 1889, the population milestone was reached, and the legislature authorized a total of five justices. Constitutional sanction of the enlargement came in 1924 with voter approval of Amendment 9, which also allowed for the future legislative creation of two additional judgeships. Act 205 of 1925 further increased the number of justices to seven.
Note: Some early justices were able to be elected to positions they were appointed to. Ark. Const., Amendment 29, adopted in 1938, prohibited state, county, and city appointees from being elected to the same position.
List of judges of the Superior Court of the Arkansas Territory
editFrom 1819 to 1836, the highest court in the Arkansas Territory was the Superior Court, which consisted of presidentially-appointed judges who served four-year terms. The court was established with three judges, with a fourth added in 1828.[2] Below is a list of the judges that constituted that court:[3][4]
| Judge | Date(s) of appointment |
Appointing president(s) |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles Jouett | March 3, 1819 | Monroe | did not serve |
| Robert P. Letcher | March 3, 1819 | Monroe | did not serve |
| Andrew Scott | March 3, 1819 December 9, 1822 |
Monroe | |
| Joseph Selden | May 10, 1820 January 5, 1824 |
Monroe | |
| John Thomson | May 10, 1820 | Monroe | did not serve |
| Benjamin Johnson | January 18, 1821 December 13, 1824 December 11, 1828 December 11, 1832 |
Monroe Monroe J.Q. Adams Jackson |
|
| William Trimble | December 13, 1824 December 11, 1828 |
Monroe J.Q. Adams |
|
| Thomas P. Eskridge | March 1, 1827 January 31, 1831 |
J.Q. Adams Jackson |
|
| Edward Cross | May 21, 1830 December 16, 1833 |
Jackson | |
| Charles S. Bibb | February 1, 1832 | Jackson | |
| Alexander M. Clayton | December 11, 1832 | Jackson | |
| Thomas J. Lacy | March 17, 1834 | Jackson | |
| Archibald Yell | January 7, 1835 | Jackson |
List of chief justices
edit| Chief Justice | In office | Notes[5] |
|---|---|---|
| Daniel Ringo | 1836–1844 | |
| Thomas Johnson | 1845–1852 | |
| George C. Watkins | 1853–1854 | |
| Elbert H. English | 1855–1864 | After May 6, 1861, the state was part of the Confederate States of America |
| Thomas D. W. Yonley | 1864–1866 | After April 9, 1865, the state was once again part of the USA |
| David Walker | 1866–1868 | Ousted by military commander |
| William W. Wilshire | 1868–1871 | |
| John McClure | 1871–1874 | Constitution of 1868; previously an associate justice (position 5) |
| Elbert H. English | 1874–1884 | |
| Sterling R. Cockrill | 1884–1893 | |
| Henry Gaston Bunn | 1893–1904 | Appointed; subsequently elected |
| Joseph Morrison Hill | 1904–1909 | |
| Edgar A. McCulloch | 1909–1927 | Appointed; subsequently elected |
| Jesse C. Hart | 1927–1933 | |
| Cecil E. Johnson | 1933–1936 | |
| Griffin Smith | 1937–1955 | |
| Lee Seamster | 1955–1956 | Appointed |
| Carleton Harris | 1957–1980 | |
| John A. Fogleman | 1980 | Appointed; previously an associate justice (position 6) |
| Richard B. Adkisson | 1980–1984 | |
| Webster Hubbell | 1984 | Appointed by Governor Bill Clinton |
| Jack Holt Jr. | 1985–1995 | |
| Bradley D. Jesson | 1995–1996 | Appointed |
| W. H. "Dub" Arnold | 1997–2003 | |
| Betty Dickey | 2004 | Appointed |
| Jim Hannah | 2005–2015 | Previously an associate justice (position 5) |
| Howard W. Brill | 2015–2016 | Appointed by Governor Asa Hutchinson |
| John Dan Kemp | 2017–present |
List of associate justices
editPosition 2
edit| Associate Justice (position 2) |
In office | Notes[5] |
|---|---|---|
| Townsend Dickinson | 1836–1842 | |
| George W. Paschal | 1843 | |
| William K. Sebastian | 1843–1844 | |
| Williamson Simpson Oldham | 1845–1848 | |
| Christopher C. Scott | 1848–1859 | |
| Henry Massey Rector | 1859–1860 | |
| Hulbert F. Fairchild | 1860–1864 | |
| Albert Pike | 1864–1865 | appointed[6] |
| Charles A. Harper | 1865–1866 | |
| Freeman W. Compton | 1866–1868 | ousted by military commander |
| Lafayette Gregg | 1868–1874 | Constitution of 1868 |
| David Walker | 1874–1878 | |
| Jesse Turner | 1878 | |
| John R. Eakin | 1878–1885 | |
| Burrill B. Battle | 1885–1910 | |
| William F. Kirby | 1910–1916 | |
| Thomas H. Humphreys | 1916–1942 | appointed |
| R. W. Robins | 1943–1949 | |
| Robert A. Leflar | 1949–1950 | appointed |
| Sam Dunn Robinson | 1951–1965 | |
| Osro Cobb | 1965–1966 | appointed |
| J. Fred Jones | 1967–1977 | |
| Elsijane Trimble Roy | 1977 | appointed |
| George Howard Jr. | 1977–1978 | appointed |
| John I. Purtle | 1979–1989 | |
| Otis H. Turner | 1990 | appointed |
| Donald L. Corbin | 1991–2014 | |
| Robin F. Wynne | 2014–2023 | |
| J. Cody Hiland | 2023–present | appointed |
Position 3
edit| Associate Justice (position 3) |
In office | Notes[5] |
|---|---|---|
| Thomas J. Lacy | 1836–1845 | |
| Edward Cross | 1845–1846 | |
| William Conway | 1847–1848 | |
| David Walker | 1849–1855 | |
| Thomas Burton Hanly | 1856–1858 | |
| Felix Ives Batson | 1859 | |
| Freeman W. Compton | 1859–1864 | Confederate |
| John J. Clendenin | 1866–1868 | |
| Thomas M. Bowen | 1868–1871 | |
| John E. Bennett | 1871–1874 | |
| Freeman W. Compton | 1874 | appointed |
| William M. Harrison | 1874–1882 | |
| William W. Smith | 1882–1888 | |
| Monte H. Sandels | 1889–1890 | |
| William W. Mansfield | 1891–1894 | |
| James E. Riddick | 1894–1907 | appointed; subsequently elected |
| Jesse C. Hart | 1907–1927 | appointed; subsequently elected |
| Edgar L. McHaney | 1927–1948 | |
| Charles C. Wine | 1948 | appointed |
| George Rose Smith | 1949–1987 | |
| Tom Glaze | 1987–2008 | |
| Elana Wills | 2008–2010 | appointed |
| Courtney Rae Hudson | 2010–present |
Position 4
edit| Associate Justice (position 4) |
In office | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| William M. Harrison | 1868–3123 | Constitution of 1868 |
| Marshall L. Stephenson | 1873 | Constitution of 1868 |
| Wilson E. Hemingway | 1889–1893 | |
| Richard H. Powell | 1893 | appointed |
| Carroll D. Wood | 1893–1929 | |
| Turner Butler | 1929–1938 | |
| W. R. Donham | 1938 | appointed |
| J. Seaborn Holt | 1938–1961 | |
| Neill Bohlinger | 1961–1962 | appointed |
| J. Frank Holt | 1963–1966 | |
| Hugh M. Bland | 1966 | appointed |
| Conley Byrd | 1967–1980 | |
| Richard Mays | 1980 | appointed |
| Robert H. Dudley | 1981–1996 | |
| Ray Thornton | 1997–2004 | |
| Jim Gunter | 2005–2012 | |
| Josephine L. Hart | 2012–2020 | |
| Barbara Womack Webb | 2021–present |
Position 5
edit| Associate Justice (position 5) |
In office | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| John E. McClure | 1868–1871 | Constitution of 1868 |
| Elhanan J. Searle | 1871–1873 | Constitution of 1868 |
| Simon Pollard Hughes Jr. | 1889–1904 | |
| Edgar A. McCulloch | 1904–1909 | |
| Samuel Frauenthal | 1909–1912 | appointed |
| Frank G. Smith | 1912–1949 | |
| Edwin Dunaway | 1949–1950 | appointed |
| Paul Ward | 1951–1968 | |
| J. Frank Holt | 1969–1983 | |
| P. A. "Les" Hollingsworth | 1984 | appointed |
| David Newbern | 1985–1998 | |
| Lavenski Smith | 1999–2000 | appointed |
| Jim Hannah | 2001–2004 | elected Chief Justice |
| Betty Dickey | 2005–2006 | appointed |
| Paul Danielson | 2006–2016 | |
| Shawn Womack | 2017–present |
Position 6
edit| Associate Justice (position 6) |
In office | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| William F. Kirby | 1927–1934 | |
| Basil Baker | 1934–1941 | |
| Karl Greenhaw | 1941–1942 | appointed |
| Ben Carter | 1943 | |
| Robert C. Knox | 1943–1944 | appointed |
| Minor W. Millwee | 1945–1958 | |
| William J. Smith | 1958 | appointed |
| James D. Johnson | 1959–1966 | |
| Guy Amsler | 1966 | appointed |
| John A. Fogleman | 1967–1980 | appointed Chief Justice |
| John F. Stroud Jr. | 1980 | appointed |
| Steele Hays | 1981–1994 | |
| Andree Layton Roaf | 1995–1996 | appointed |
| Annabelle Clinton Imber Tuck | 1997–2009 | |
| William H. Bowen | 2010 | appointed |
| Ronald Lee Sheffield | 2010 | appointed |
| Karen R. Baker | 2010–present |
Position 7
edit| Associate Justice (position 7) |
In office | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| James W. Mehaffy | 1927 | died before assuming office |
| Tom M. Mehaffy | 1927–1942 | appointed; subsequently elected |
| Ed F. McFaddin | 1943–1966 | |
| Lyle Brown | 1967–1975 | |
| Elsijane Trimble Roy | 1975–1977 | appointed |
| Darrell Hickman | 1977–1990 | |
| Dale Price | 1990 | |
| Robert L. Brown | 1991–2012 | [7] |
| Cliff Hoofman | 2013–2014 | [8] |
| Rhonda K. Wood | 2015–present |
References
edit- ^ a b William B. Jones Jr. (original compiler). "Arkansas Courts Historical Background". Courts Historical Background. State of Arkansas. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ Hempstead, Samuel H. (1856). Hempstead's Reports. p. iii-iv.
- ^ Jones, William B. Jr. (August 23, 2023). "Supreme Court of Arkansas". Encyclopedia of Arkansas.
- ^ Bicentennial Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States (1983). Judges of the United States (2 ed.).
- ^ a b c William B. Jones Jr. (original compiler). "Arkansas Courts Historical Background". Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas (1836–2011). State of Arkansas. Archived from the original on October 9, 2012. Retrieved March 27, 2012.
- ^ Brown, Walter Lee (1997). A Life of Albert Pike. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press. pp. 426–429. ISBN 1-55728-469-5. LCCN 97019116. OL 673049M.
- ^ "Robert L. Brown - Judgepedia". December 8, 2014. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014.
- ^ "Cliff Hoofman - Judgepedia". October 6, 2014. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.
