Webb announces run for chief of the Arkansas Supreme Court
Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Barbara Webb announced her run for chief justice Monday, joining two of her colleagues in the race for the top seat on the high court.
Webb, who was elected to the state Supreme Court in 2020, is running to replace Chief Justice John Dan Kemp next year. Kemp has said he intends to retire at the end of his term, noting that since he has passed age 70 he would have to relinquish his retirement benefits under state law if he were reelected.
Justices Karen Baker and Rhonda Wood also have announced their candidacies for chief justice.
“From private practice, to prosecuting attorney, to justice on the supreme court — my over four decades of courtroom experience have more than prepared me for this opportunity to be our state’s next Chief Justice,” said Webb in a news release. “With your support, I will continue to be a fair and independent voice that all Arkansans can trust.”
Before her election to the Arkansas Supreme Court, Webb served as chief administrative law judge at the Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission. She was also the first female circuit judge for the 22nd Judicial Circuit, and the first elected female prosecuting attorney in Saline County. She has served as a special associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, according to her news release.
Webb has been a member of the Arkansas Ethics Commission, Arkansas State Crime Lab Board, Arkansas Coalition for Juvenile Justice, and the U.S. Department of Justice Anti-terrorism Task Force, according to her statement.
She is married to Doyle Webb, chairman of the Arkansas Public Service Commission and former chairman of the Arkansas Republican Party.
Webb graduated from the University of Arkansas Bowen School of Law and has been a licensed attorney since 1982, according to her statement.
If Webb is unsuccessful in her bid for chief justice, she will continue serving as an associate justice on the court.
In addition to the chief justice position, Arkansas voters will have to select justices for at least two other state Supreme Court seats in the 2024 election.
Earlier this month, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Cody Hiland, former U.S. Attorney and past chairman of the Republican Party, to fill a vacancy on the court created by the death of Justice Robin Wynne. Hiland will serve until an elected justice takes office to complete the rest of Wynne’s term.
Justice Shawn Womack is up for election next year. Womack, who was first elected to the court in 2016, has said he intends to run for a second term.
The seven justices on the Arkansas Supreme Court are elected in statewide nonpartisan elections and serve on the bench for eight-year terms. Kemp’s annual salary as chief justice is $219,902.64. Associate justices receive annual salaries of $203,625.12, according to the Arkansas transparency website.
Next year’s nonpartisan general election is on March 5, according to the Arkansas secretary of state’s website.