Hopefuls seek district court, appellate panel judgeships

Fresh and familiar faces for Pulaski County voters have declared their intentions in recent days to run in next year’s judicial elections.

Molly McNulty, a Court of Appeals clerk, says she will seek the court’s District 6, Position 1, to succeed the retiring Rita Gruber for the appeals judgeship representing Perry, Pulaski and Saline counties in the March 2024 elections, which coincide with the state’s political primaries.

Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce, the most senior judge of the 6th Judicial Circuit of Perry and Pulaski counties, has announced his intention to run for the Little Rock District criminal judge position being vacated next year by Melanie Martin, who is running for a circuit judge post.

The district court judgeship is also being pursued by Jill Kamps, a longtime prosecutor who manages the prosecutors in the circuit’s six district courts.

Pierce, 68 and elected to the bench in 1998, is retiring next year due to a law that requires all circuit judges and above to forfeit their judicial retirement if they turn 70 before starting a new term. That prohibition does not apply to district judges. Describing his tenure as circuit judge as a “privilege,” Pierce said he wants to continue his public survive.

“Public service is my passion. I love my job, and look forward to my work as a judge,” Pierce said in his campaign announcement. “My experience of trying thousands of cases the past 24 plus years, uniquely qualifies me for a district judge position.”

Pierce has held several leadership roles during his tenure, including president and treasurer of the Pulaski County Bar Association and president of the William R. Overton Inn of Court. He is currently president of the Arkansas Judicial Council, which is composed of the justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court and the judges from the Court of Appeals and the state’s circuits. He’s also been recognized as Pulaski County Circuit Judge of the Year numerous times, most recently in 2022.

McNulty, 38, has been the law clerk for Court of Appeals Judge Raymond Abramson since 2015, and she credits that job with providing her “valuable experience specific to the appellate court system, including writing hundreds of draft opinions and advising on complex legal issues.”

“I am running for the Court of Appeals because I want to continue to serve Arkansans in a meaningful way by faithfully upholding the principles of justice under the Constitution and laws of our state,” McNulty said in her campaign announcement. “My experience working in the appellate court system has prepared me to take on this important role.”

McNulty has also been an adjunct professor at the Bowen School of Law at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She began her legal career as a law clerk for U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Volpe.

The daughter of retired Circuit Judge Mary McGowan, McNulty said she has committed her life to public service and is one of the first master’s graduates of the Public Service Academy at the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service.

A married mother of two, McNulty is active in a wide range of community organizations, including the Arkansas Bar Association, the Central Arkansas Library System Foundation, the Leadership Greater Little Rock Alumni Association, Camp Aldersgate, the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, the Historic Arkansas Museum Foundation, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, The Rotary Club of Little Rock and the Junior League of Little Rock.