Judicial selection in Arkansas

Judicial selection in Arkansas
Arkansas Supreme Court
Method:	Nonpartisan election
Term:	8 years
Arkansas Court of Appeals
Method:	Nonpartisan election
Term:	8 years
Arkansas Circuit Courts
Method:	Nonpartisan election
Term:	6 years
Arkansas District Courts
Method:	Nonpartisan election
Term:	4 years

Judicial selection refers to the process used to select judges for courts. At the state level, methods of judicial selection vary substantially in the United States, and in some cases between different court types within a state. There are six primary types of judicial selection: partisan and nonpartisan elections, the Michigan method, assisted appointment, gubernatorial appointment, and legislative elections. To read more about how these selection methods are used across the country, click here.

This article covers how state court judges are selected in Arkansas, including:

• Arkansas Supreme Court,
• Arkansas Court of Appeals,
• Arkansas Circuit Courts, and
• Limited jurisdiction courts

As of March 2023, judges for all courts in the state were selected through the nonpartisan election of judges. While the appellate and general jurisdiction courts have varying policies on judge qualifications, chief justice selection and term length, they share common regulations on re-election and the filling of interim vacancies. Likewise, the limited jurisdiction courts function largely the same across the board, differing primarily in judge qualifications.

Click here to notify us of changes to judicial selection methods in this state.

Arkansas Supreme Court

See also: Arkansas Supreme Court

The seven justices on the Arkansas Supreme Court are selected through nonpartisan elections. They compete in nonpartisan general elections—occurring at the same time as the primary elections for other state officials—in which the candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the vote wins the seat. If no candidate garners a majority of the vote, the top two candidates compete in a runoff during the November general election.

The winners are elected to eight-year terms.

Qualifications

To serve on this court, a justice must be:

• licensed to practice law in Arkansas for at least eight years;
• a qualified elector within the geographic area from which chosen.

Chief justice

The court's chief justice is selected by voters at large and serves in that capacity for a full eight-year term.

Vacancies

See also: How vacancies are filled in state supreme courts

In the event of a midterm vacancy, an interim judge is selected by the governor to fill the empty seat. If the open seat would have been filled at the next general election if the vacancy did not occur, the appointed justice will serve the remainder of the unexpired term. If the open seat would not have been regularly filled at the next general election, the appointee will serve until the next general election if the vacancy occurred more than four months prior to the election. If the vacancy occurs less than four months prior to the next general election, then the justice will serve until the second succeeding general election. A justice appointed by the governor to serve an unexpired term is ineligible to run for re-election to their seat.

The map below highlights how vacancies are filled in state supreme courts across the country.