The year 2000 brought major change to the structure of the Arkansas court system with the adoption by Arkansas voters of a new judicial article for the state constitution. These structural changes will be phased in over the next five years and will result in the unification of the courts of general and limited jurisdiction. Under the present system, which was created by the Arkansas Constitution of 1874, there are three tiers, each of which is separate and distinct in its jurisdiction, processes, and funding.

The top tier is made up of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeals. Parties are entitled, under the Arkansas Constitution, to one appeal which is taken either to the Supreme Court or Court of Appeals. The distribution of the cases between the two courts is established by Supreme Court Rule. Each court exercises jurisdiction over civil and criminal cases, with the Supreme Court hearing the more serious criminal cases and those civil cases which have constitutional implications. While judges on both courts are now elected in partisan elections for eight year terms, the new judicial article changes the selection method to non-partisan elections.

The second tier consists of circuit, chancery and probate courts. Arkansas has remained one of three states in the Union which maintains separate courts of law and equity. The new judicial article will consolidate these courts into one circuit court in 2001. Currently, judges of courts of law are called circuit judges and those of courts of equity are called chancellors. In some areas of the state, circuit/chancery judgeships have been established so that the same judge can serve both courts. Circuit courts have jurisdiction over criminal and civil matters and appeals from limited jurisdiction courts. The right to trial by jury exists in circuit court but not in chancery court. Chancery court jurisdiction includes divorce, child custody, injunctions, and land disputes. The juvenile division of chancery court, staffed by circuit/chancery or chancery judges, has jurisdiction over delinquency, abuse and neglect, and families in need of services cases. Chancellors, sitting as judges of the probate court, hear cases involving guardianships, civil commitments, adoptions, and estates. All general jurisdiction judges run in partisan elections; circuit and circuit/chancery judges for four-year terms and chancery judges for six-year terms. Under the new judicial article, all trial judges will be selected in non-partisan elections for six-year terms.

Limited jurisdiction courts in Arkansas are of six types, each possessing somewhat overlapping jurisdiction. The courts of common pleas and justice of the peace courts are, in practice, only historical in nature, with very few cases being reported. Likewise, the county courts maintain jurisdiction over only a few minor matters involving county taxes and county roads. The municipal courts are the main courts of limited jurisdiction. These courts exercise county-wide jurisdiction over misdemeanor cases, preliminary felony cases, and civil cases in matters of less than $5,000. A small claims division of municipal court provides a forum in which citizens represent themselves to resolve minor civil matters. The city courts and police courts operate in smaller communities where municipal courts do not exist and exercise somewhat more limited jurisdiction. The judicial article will bring major changes to these courts with their consolidation into one district court, effective in 2005.