Terry reappointed to judicial panel

Lieutenant governor gives Little Rock lawyer second six-year term

Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin reappointed attorney Rex Terry to a six-year term as an alternate member on the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission, Griffin said Wednesday.

Griffin, a Little Rock Republican, said he didn’t consider other candidates for this appointment to the commission because “I was told he was outstanding and know him to be outstanding and a man of integrity.

“Experience on the commission is a good thing, not a bad thing, especially due to the unique nature of the commission. Rex Terry is an asset to the commission and the state,” he said in an email.

Griffin, who is an attorney, said he didn’t discuss any particular cases with Terry.

“I just asked him if he was interested in continuing to serve,” he said.

Terry is a partner at the Little Rock firm of Hardin, Jesson and Terry, PLC, and has practiced law for more than 30 years with a focus on commercial and oil and gas transactional matters; probate matters; and the defense of complex litigation, according to Griffin’s office. He also has served as special justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court.

In 2011, former Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Darr of Springdale appointed Terry to his first term on the commission.

Terry on Wednesday referred questions about his work on the commission to David Sachar, executive director of the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission.

As an alternate member, Terry is assigned to a three-member investigatory panel that functions like a federal grand jury and decides whether to file charges against judges, Sachar said. The panel generally considers a half dozen to a dozen cases a month. Sachar said Terry serves on a panel along with Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay and real estate company owner Mary Bassett.

The commission includes nine regular members who hold formal discipline hearings and act as judges, and nine alternate members who serve on three investigative panels, Sachar said.

The Supreme Court and the governor each appoint three regular members and three alternates. The lieutenant governor, House speaker and attorney general each appoint one regular member and one alternate, Sachar said.

In October 2015, Griffin announced that he appointed attorney Thomas Williams of Little Rock as a regular member to the commission. Williams is a managing member of the Quattlebaum, Grooms and Tull PLLC.

The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission is one of two state commissions for which the lieutenant governor makes appointments, said Griffin spokesman David Ray. The other is the Arkansas Ethics Commission.