The Arkansas Judicial Council consists of all judges of the circuit and chancery courts, Court of Appeals, Justices of the Supreme Court, retired justices and judges, and the Director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. The Council acts as the official body representing the state’s judiciary. It was organized "to foster and preserve the integrity, dignity, and independence of the judiciary; to promote uniformity and dispatch in judicial administration; to develop, implement and maintain a program of judicial education preassisting members newly elected or appointed to the bench; to provide continuing judicial education for members accommodating the diverse needs of chancellors, circuit judges and appellate justices; and to select members to the Judicial Retirement Board." The Council has the specific statutory responsibility of making recommendations to the General Assembly on judicial redistricting and the addition of new judgeships in the state. Formal business of the Council is conducted in spring and fall meetings each year.

Arkansas Judicial Council Board of Directors & Officers

Front Row (L-R): Judge John Dan Kemp, Judge Kathleen Bell, Judge Rita Gruder, J.D. Gingerich Back Row (L-R) Judge Ralph Wilson, Judge Robert McCorkindale, Judge Edward Jones, Judge John Cole, Judge Graham Partlow

The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is the administrative office for the non-judicial business of the state courts. The office provides services to the court system, state and local government, and the public.

The AOC provides educational opportunities for trial and appellate court judges, municipal judges, court clerks, court reporters, case coordinators, and law clerks. Orientation programs for new judges is also a part of the ongoing education program and the division oversees the budget for all out-of-state educational programs. The division includes a public education component to help educate students and private citizens about the court system. The director of publications also works within the division. The office routinely publishes educational pamphlets, statistical reports, special research reports, and a bi-monthly newsletter. The division includes the state’s court interpreter/translator who is responsible for foreign language interpretation and services to the hearing and sight impaired for all courts in the state.

Several attorneys provide ongoing legal assistance to all judges and local officials. Specific legal research requests are accepted and major policy proposals and research are completed on behalf of the Judicial Council, the Supreme Court, the Governor’s Office, and the General Assembly.

A staff of automation and records specialists is responsible for the collection and dissemination of court data from all courts in the state. Data auditors regularly travel to all courthouses in the state in order to collect and confirm the reliability of data. The division is also responsible for the implementation of all court automation projects within the state.

The AOC also houses and staffs the Arkansas Alternate Dispute Resolution Commission, which is responsible for the implementation of ADR programs, education, and the certification of ADR professionals, and the state’s Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program.

The Arkansas Supreme Court carries out many of its administrative responsibilities through the work of several committees. Each committee is made up of judges, attorneys, and lay persons and one liaison justice of the Supreme Court. Staffing for the committees is provided by the Office of Professional Programs, the Office of Professional Conduct, and the Administrative Office of the Courts. The 1997-98 committees and their chairpersons included the following:

County government is the funding source for the salaries of all circuit, chancery and probate court support and clerical staff and for all supplies, equipment, utilities and facilities within each judicial circuit. Each county within the circuit provides funding according to its pro rata share of the district-wide court expenses and is solely responsible for the costs of facilities and utilities within the county. County government pays all expenses of the county court, court of common pleas, and justice of the peace courts. The county government also shares with city government the cost of the municipal court. The county share is usually 50%, but there are numerous exceptions to this pattern in a variety of locally negotiated arrangements.

City government is responsible for the remainder of municipal court expenses not provided by county government and provides the sole support for city and police courts.