ArkansasAppeals.com

The Honorable Karen Baker and the Honorable Courtney Hudson Henry will be sworn in as Associate Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court today at 3:00 p.m. in the Arkansas Supreme Court courtroom in Little Rock.  The ceremony will be streamed live online. 

Judge Karen Baker formerly served as the Court of Appeals Judge for District 2, Position 2.  She was elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court in a runoff election on November 2, 2010, where she received 60% of the votes to overtake her opponent, Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Tim Fox. See Arkansas Supreme Court Election Results: Judge Karen Baker Wins Election for Position 6.

Judge Courtney Henry, also a former Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge (for District 3), was elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court on May 18, 2010.  She received 58% of the vote to defeat Circuit Court Judge John Fogleman. See May 18, 2010 Judicial Election Results.

Former Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Annabelle Imber Tuck was the first female Justice to be elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court in 1997.  Justice Imber Tuck now serves as Commissioner of Arkansas Access to Justice.  The elections of the Honorable Courtney Henry and the Honorable Karen Baker mark only the second and third times in Arkansas history that females have been elected to serve as Associate Justices to the Arkansas Supreme Court.  Other women who have served on the Court by way of appointments include: Elsijane Trimble Roy, Betty Dickey, Andree Layton Roaf, and Elana Cunningham Wills.

Click here to watch the video from the January 10, 2011 Arkansas Supreme Court Swearing-In Ceremony.

–Tasha Taylor