Published by the Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts

Volume 17, Number 3November, 2009

of the COURTFriends

Judicial Council Holds Fall Conference

Arkansas Judicial Council mem-bers held their fall meeting in

Rogers in October. Hon. HarryFoltz/12th Judicial Circuit waselected to serve as President for2009 - 2010, and the Hon. JoyceWarren was chosen as President-Elect. Pictured are CouncilOfficers and Board of Directorswho have just completed the 2008- 2009 term. Front row (l to r):Judge David Guthrie, Judge JohnHomer Wright, Judge PhillipWhiteaker and Judge Joe Griffin.Middle row: Judge John Fogleman,Judge Kathleen Bell, Justice Annabelle Imber, Judge John Dan Kemp and Judge Harry Foltz. Top row:Judge Mark Lindsay, JD Gingerich, Judge John Scott and Judge Vann Smith.

District Judges met in EurekaSprings in September and the

following judges were elected tothe Council and Board for the2009-2010 term: (l.- r.) JudgeDon Bourne/District Rep., JudgeWayne Gruber/District Rep.,Judge Mike Irwin/President, JudgeLucky Crumpler/District Rep.,Judge Butch Hale/Secretary-Treasurer, Judge Dan Stidham/District Rep., and Judge MikeRobinson/Immediate PastPresident.(Judge Kim Bridgforth/VicePresident not pictured.)

District Court Judges Meet

35 Attorneys Recognized for10 Years of Service to the

Attorney Ad Litem Program In 1997, the Arkansas Supreme Court Ad Hoc

Committee on Foster Care and Adoption issued areport making recommendations for improvement incourt practice to enable children who are abused andneglected to be placed in safe and permanent homes ina timely fashion. In the report, the Committee recom-mended the creation of a state-sponsored systemthrough the AOC for attorney ad litem representationof every child in dependency-neglect proceedings. Apilot program was initiated in the 13th Judicial Districtin 1999, followed by the creation of a statewide systemof contracts for attorneys to represent children independency-neglect cases which started on January 1,2000.

The Attorney Ad Litem Program recently celebratedtheir 10 year anniversary at the Fall AAL Conferenceheld in Little Rock. The program currently has 32 fulltime attorneys and 40 part time contractors. OnOctober 15, 2009, the program acknowledged thework of 35 attorneys who have zealously advocated on

behalf of dependent-neglected children since thebeginning of the program.

Passing of the Gavel

Representatives from the 3rd, 11th, and 16thDivisions in the 6th Judicial Circuit attended trainingat the AOC on October 23. On November 2, all divi-sions that hold jury trials in the 6th Circuit went “live”with the Jury Management Software. The software,which enables courts to manage the jury selectionprocess, was created by ACS and is offered throughthe AOC at no cost to the courts. Currently 45 ofArkansas’s 75 counties use the software. For additionalinformation, please contact Susan Yarbro, ProgramManager, at 800-950-8221 or 501-682-9400.Pictured: Judge Jay Moody-3rd Div. (background),Debbie Hall, Trial Court Assistant-3rd Div. (left), andLaQuina Reed, Trial Court Assistant-11th Div. listento details of the jury software program.

At the conclusion of the Judicial Council meetingin October, Judge Harry Foltz, incoming JudicialCouncil President, presented a plaque of appreciationto outgoing President, Judge John Dan Kemp.

Senator Sue Madison of Fayetteville was presentedthe “First Branch Award” during the fall JudicialCouncil meeting in Rogers. The award was estab-lished in 1992 to recognize outstanding service onbehalf of and for the improvement of the state judicialsystem by a member of the Arkansas Legislature.Pictured: Senator Madison speaks to Judicial Councilmembers after receiving the “First Branch Award” fromJudge Vann Smith, Chairman of the Council’sLegislative Committee.

Jury Management Training

Senator Sue Madison Receives“First Branch Award”

Historic Trees Donated to Polk CountyMena, Arkansas suffered tremendous damage in

April due to a tornado that passed through the area.All the trees around the courthouse were destroyedby the high winds. A committee, chaired byBonnie Kenney, Jury Business Analyst, was estab-lished in the Administrative Office of the Courts todetermine how best to assist, and a fund raising pic-nic was held in May at the Justice Building. Withmoney collected from the fund raiser, nine treeswere purchased from the American Forests’ Historic

Tree Program: three John Madison Red Maples,three Chickaumauga Black Maples, and threeMontepelier Crape Myrtles.

Committee members traveled to Mena inOctober to be a part of the tree planting ceremonyat the courthouse. Judge J.W. Looney, presidingjudge in the 18th West Circuit, his Trial CourtAssistant, Michelle Boehler, and other courthouseand county officials were present and assisted withthe planting.

At the Justice Building picnic, Bonnie Kenney, displayed the “money tree” and pictures of thecourthouse before and after the tornado.

Polk County Courthouse personnel, county officials, Garden Club members, and AOC staff gathered together with shovels in hand to plantthe donated trees.

After being employed for over 27 yearsat the Administrative Office of theCourts, Dinda Hemphill is retiring inDecember. During those years at theAOC, Hemphill served as a data auditor, gathering statistical infor-mation from court files around theState. Data auditors in the AOC arenow referred to as RegionalFunctional Specialists. Hemphill isretiring as the Regional SupportManager, a position that heads up theAOC’s data gathering division.

Upon learning of Dinda’s retirement,

John Stewart, Deputy Director of the AOC, commented, “I have had the privilege of

working with Dinda for the last 27years. She was so good at what she did;you never gave it a second thought.Now that she has decided to retire, allI do is think about it. I know that shehas earned this, but it wasn't supposed

to happen until I retired. I speak for judges, clerks, trial court

assistants and fellow coworkers that havedepended on her knowledge and willingness

to assist with whatever issue that had arisen, shewill be missed. I will miss her too.”

Veteran AOC Employee Retires Dinda Hemphill

Friends of the CourtAdministrative Office of the CourtsJustice Building/625 MarshallLittle Rock, AR 72201

Friends of the Courtis a

bi-monthly publication by the Arkansas Administrative Office of

the Courts.Contributions, comments, and inquiries

are welcome. Please submit to

Friends of the Court, A.O.C., Justice Building,

625 Marshall, Little Rock, AR 72201.

Tel. (501) 682-9400. Karolyn Bond, Editor.

Address Correction Requested

New facesin the Judiciary

FebruaryDistrict & City Court 12Clerks Certifiation- 2nd & 4thDistricts (Little Rock)

District Court Officers 18-19(Eureka Springs)

MarchTrial Court Assistants Conf. 4-5(North Little Rock)

AprilDrug Court Conference 8-9(Little Rock)

District Judges Spring 18-19College/District Court ClerksAnnual Mtg. (Rogers)

Seven Arkansas District Judges wereselected to attend the ABA Traffic

Court Seminar held in Providence,Rhode Island in November. DistrictJudges Robert Abney, Vic Fleming,Ben Beland, Marianne McBeth,David Saxon, John Finley and ParkEldridge represented Arkansas.

The program consisted of trainingfor traffic-related violations andcrimes, including specific training onradar, lidar, and other speed-detectiondevices, enforcement of violationsdetected by automatic cameras, issuesrelated to teenaged drivers, handlingpro se defendants and guilty pleas fordue process, how to detect prima facieracial profiling based on trafficrecords, bonds, dispositions, case flowmanagement, addiction, sentencingrecommendations, and judicial ethicsand elections.

While there, the judges and theirspouses attended a program at the Rhode Island Capitol, complete withColonial Militia and Minutemen in full regalia and with replica flintlockrifles, knives and bayonets.

Judge Marianne McBeth of EurekaSprings with an Officer of the ColonialMilitia holding a prized original 1761officer’s sword at his side.

Happy Holidays

Benton Co. (Sulphur Springs)Peggy Gunter replaces KathyHolland.Mountain View - Emmie Gentryreplaces Gail Jason.

CALENDAR