| Arkansas Courts
Historical Background Originally Compiled by William B. Jones, Jr. |
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Justices, Judges and Officers of the Courts (1686-2008) Judges of Colonial Arkansas (1686-1804) |
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| Henri de Tonty | 1686-1699 | |
| Jean-Baptiste Ménard, Martin Merrick, and Labro | 1721-1722 | |
| Bertrand Dufresne, Sieur du Demaine | 1722-1726 | |
| Unknown | 1726-1731 | |
| First Ensign Pierre de Coulange | 1731-1734 | |
| First Ensign Jean Ste. Thérèse de Langloiserie | 1734 | |
| Lieutenant Joseph Louis Boucher de Grandpré | 1734-1739 | |
| Lieutenant Jean-François Tisserant de Montcharvaux | 1739-1748 | |
| First Ensign Louis-Xavier-Martin Delinó de Chalmette | 1748-1751 | |
| Lieutenant Paul Augustin le Pelletier de La Houssaye | 1751-1753 | |
| Captain Charles Marie de Reggio | 1753-1757 | |
| Captain de Gamon de La Rochette | 1757-1763 | |
| First Ensign de Brichet | 1763 | |
| Captain Pierre Marie Caberet de Trépi | 1763-1764 | |
| Ensign Le Gros de Grandcour | 1764-1766 | |
| Spanish Domination |
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| Ensign Le Gros de Grandcour | 1766-1768 | |
| Captain Alexandre de Clouet | 1768-1769 | |
| Captain François Demasellière | 1769-1770 | |
| Lieutenant Josef Orieta | 1770-1771 | |
| Captain Fernando de Leyba | 1771-1774 | |
| Captain Josef Orieta | 1774-1776 | |
| Sergeant Garcia | 1776 | |
| Captain Balthazar de Villiers | 1776-1782 | |
| Lieutenant Luis de Villars | 1782-1783 | |
| Captain Jacobo Dubreuil Saint-Cyr | 1783-1787 | |
| Captain Josef Bernard Vallière d'Hauterive | 1787-1790 | |
| Captain Juan Ignacio Delinó de Chalmette | 1790-1794 | |
| Captain Carlos Melchior de Vilemont | 1794-1802 | |
| Captain Francisco Caso y Luengo | 1802-1804 | |
| Judges of the Superior Court of the District of Louisiana (1804-1805) |
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| Thomas Terry Davis | 1804-1805 | |
| John Griffin | 1804-1805 | |
| Henry Vandenberg | 1804-1805 | |
| Judges of the Superior Court of the Territory of Louisiana (1805-1812) |
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| Position One - Appointed | ||
| John B.C. Lucas | 1805 | |
| Position Two - Appointed | ||
| Return Jonathan Meigs, Jr. | 1805 | |
| John Coburn | 1806 | |
| Position Three - Appointed | ||
| Rufus Easton | 1805 | |
| Otho Shrader | 1806 | |
| William Sprigg | 1812 | |
| Judges of the Superior Court of the Territory of Missouri (1812-1819) |
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| Position One - Appointed | ||
| John B.C. Lucas | con't 1812 | |
| Position Two - Appointed | ||
| John Coburn | con't 1812 | |
| Silas Bent | 1813 | |
| Position Three - Appointed | ||
| William Sprigg | con't 1812 | |
| Alexander Stuart | 1814 | |
| Judges of the Superior Court of the Territory of Arkansas (1819-1836) |
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| Position One - Appointed | ||
| Andrew Scott | 1819 | |
| Thomas P. Eskridge | 1827 | |
| Archibald Yell | 1835 | |
| Position Two - Appointed | ||
| Charles Jouett | 1819 | |
| James Woodson Bates | 1819 | |
| Benjamin Johnson | 1820 | |
| Position Three - Appointed | ||
| Robert P. Letcher | 1819 | |
| Joseph Selden | 1821 | |
| William Trimble | 1824 | |
| Edward Cross | 1830 | |
| Position Four - Appointed | ||
| James Woodson Bates | 1828 | |
| Charles S. Bibb | 1832 | |
| Alexander M. Clayton | 1832 | |
| Thomas J. Lacy | 1835 | |
| Clerks of the Superior Court (1819-1836) |
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| D.E. McKinney | 1819-1830 | |
| William Field | 1830-1836 | |
| Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of Arkansas (1836-2009) |
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| Position One - Chief Justice | ||
| Daniel Ringo | 1836-1844 | |
| Thomas Johnson | 1845-1852 | |
| George C. Watkins | 1853-1854 | |
| Elbert H. English [Confederate] | 1855-1864 | |
| Thomas D.W. Yonley | 1864-1866 | |
| David Walker [ousted by military commander] | 1866-1868 | |
| W.W. Wilshire | 1868-1871 | |
| John E. McClure [Constitution of 1868; held Pos. Five] | 1871-1874 | |
| Elbert H. English | 1874-1884 | |
| Sterling R. Cockrill | 1884-1893 | |
| Henry G. Bunn [appointed; subsequently elected] | 1893-1904 | |
| Joseph M. Hill | 1904-1909 | |
| Edgar A. McCulloch [appointed; subsequently elected] | 1909-1927 | |
| Jesse C. Hart | 1927-1933 | |
| Cecil E. Johnson | 1933-1936 | |
| Griffin Smith | 1937-1955 | |
| Lee Seamster [appointed] | 1955-1956 | |
| Carleton Harris | 1957-1980 | |
| John A. Fogleman [appointed; prev. held Position Six] | 1980 | |
| Richard B. Adkisson | 1980-1984 | |
| Webster Lee Hubbell [appointed] | 1984 | |
| Jack Holt, Jr. | 1985-1995 | |
| Bradley D. Jesson [appointed] | 1995-1996 | |
| W.H. "Dub" Arnold | 1997-2003 | |
| Betty Dickey [appointed] | 2004 | |
| Jim Hannah [previously held Position Five] | 2005- | |
| Position Two - Associate Justice | ||
| Townsend Dickinson | 1836-1842 | |
| George W. Pashal | 1843 | |
| William K. Sebastian | 1843-1844 | |
| Williamson S. Oldham | 1845-1848 | |
| Christopher C. Scott | 1848-1859 | |
| Henry H. Rector | 1859-1860 | |
| Hulbert F. Fairchild | 1860-1864 | |
| Albert Pike [Confederate] | 1864 | |
| C.A. Harper | 1864-1866 | |
| Freeman W. Compton [ousted by military commander] | 1866-1868 | |
| Lafayette Gregg [Constitution of 1868] | 1868-1874 | |
| David Walker | 1874-1878 | |
| Jesse Turner | 1878 | |
| John A. Eakin | 1878-1885 | |
| Burrill B. Battle | 1885-1910 | |
| William F. Kirby | 1910-1916 | |
| Thomas H. Humphreys [appointed] | 1916-1942 | |
| R.W. Robins | 1943-1949 | |
| Robert A. Leflar [appointed] | 1949-1950 | |
| Sam Robinson | 1951-1965 | |
| Osro Cobb [appointed] | 1965-1966 | |
| J. Fred Jones | 1967-1977 | |
| Elsijane Trimble Roy [appointed] | 1977 | |
| George Howard, Jr. [appointed] | 1977-1978 | |
| John I. Purtle | 1979-1989 | |
| Otis H. Turner [appointed] | 1990 | |
| Donald L. Corbin | 1991- | |
| Position Three - Associate Justice | ||
| Thomas J. Lacy | 1836-1845 | |
| Edward Cross | 1845-1846 | |
| William Conway | 1847-1848 | |
| David Walker | 1849-1855 | |
| Thomas B. Hanly | 1856-1858 | |
| Felix I. Batson | 1859 | |
| Freeman W. Compton [Confederate] | 1859-1864 | |
| John J. Clendenin | 1866-1868 | |
| Thomas M. Bowen | 1868-1871 | |
| John E. Bennett | 1871-1874 | |
| Freeman W. Compton [appointed] | 1874 | |
| William M. Harrison | 1874-1882 | |
| William W. Smith | 1882-1888 | |
| Monte H. Sandels | 1889-1890 | |
| William W. Mansfield | 1891-1894 | |
| James E. Riddick [appointed; subsequently elected] | 1894-1907 | |
| Jesse C. Hart [appointed; subsequently elected] | 1907-1927 | |
| Edgar L. McHaney | 1927-1948 | |
| Charles C. Wine [appointed] | 1948 | |
| George Rose Smith | 1949-1987 | |
| Tom Glaze | 1987-2008 | |
| Elana Cunningham Wills [appointed] | 2008- | |
| Position Four - Associate Justice | ||
| M.L. Stephenson [Constitution of 1868] | 1873 | |
| Wilson E. Hemingway | 1889-1893 | |
| Richard H. Powell [appointed] | 1893 | |
| Carroll D. Wood | 1893-1929 | |
| Turner Butler | 1929-1938 | |
| W.R. Donham [appointed] | 1938 | |
| J. Seaborn Holt | 1938-1961 | |
| Neill Bohlinger [appointed] | 1961-1962 | |
| J. Frank Holt | 1963-1966 | |
| Hugh M. Bland [appointed] | 1966 | |
| Conley Byrd | 1967-1980 | |
| Richard L. Mays [appointed] | 1980 | |
| Robert H. Dudley | 1981-1996 | |
| Ray Thornton | 1997-2004 | |
| Jim Gunter | 2005- | |
| Position Five - Associate Justice | ||
| John McClure [Constitution of 1868] | 1868-1871 | |
| Elhanan J. Searle [Constitution of 1868] | 1871-1873 | |
| Simon P. Hughes | 1889-1904 | |
| Edgar A. McCulloch | 1904-1909 | |
| Samuel Frauenthal [appointed] | 1909-1912 | |
| Frank G. Smith | 1912-1949 | |
| Edwin Dunaway [appointed] | 1949-1950 | |
| Paul Ward | 1951-1968 | |
| J. Frank Holt | 1969-1983 | |
| P.A. "Les" Hollingsworth [appointed] | 1984 | |
| David Newbern | 1985-1998 | |
| Lavenski R. Smith [appointed] | 1999-2000 | |
| Jim Hannah [elected Chief Justice] | 2001-2004 | |
| Betty Dickey [appointed] | 2005-2006 | |
| Paul E. Danielson | 2007- | |
| Position Six - Associate Justice | ||
| William F. Kirby | 1927-1934 | |
| Basil Baker | 1934-1941 | |
| Karl Greenhaw [appointed] | 1941-1942 | |
| Ben Carter | 1943 | |
| Robert C. Knox [appointed] | 1943-1944 | |
| Minor W. Millwee | 1945-1958 | |
| William J. Smith [appointed] | 1958 | |
| Jim Johnson | 1959-1966 | |
| Guy Amsler [appointed] | 1966 | |
| John A. Fogleman [appointed Chief Justice] | 1967-1980 | |
| John F. Stroud, Jr. [appointed] | 1980 | |
| Steele Hays | 1981-1994 | |
| Andree Layton Roaf [appointed] | 1995-1996 | |
| Annabelle Clinton Imber | 1997-2009 | |
| Position Seven - Associate Justice | ||
| James W. Mehaffy [died before assuming office] | 1927 | |
| Tom M. Mehaffy [appointed; subsequently elected] | 1927-1942 | |
| Ed F. McFaddin | 1943-1966 | |
| Lyle Brown | 1967-1975 | |
| Elsijane Trimble Roy [appointed] | 1975-1977 | |
| Darrell Hickman | 1977-1990 | |
| Dale Price [appointed] | 1990 | |
| Robert L. Brown | 1991- | |