LITTLE ROCK — For the first time in Arkansas history, the state Supreme Court will have nearly as many women as men.
The election Tuesday of Josephine “Jo” Linker Hart of Mountain View to the seven-member court means observers may see a small shift regarding decisions on social issues, but not much of one, one expert said.
When Hart is sworn in on Jan. 1, the court will for the first time have three female justices, court spokesman Stephanie Harris said.
Arkansas State University assistant political science professor Hans Hacker said he is interested in seeing how having more women on the Supreme Court affects it. “I don’t think you’re going to get a different quality of justice, because you are getting people steeped in the law, but I think what you might get is more attention to certain topics rather than others,” he said. “I’m speculating that things won’t change, but if they do, it will be a difference of degree rather than kind.”
Hart, 68, and Court of Appeals Judge Raymond Abramson, 60, of Holly Grove competed to replace Justice Jim Gunter on the state’s highest court. Gunter, elected as a justice in 2004, is retiring from the court when his term expires at the end of this year.
According to unofficial results from The Associated Press, Hart received 194,143 of the 297,413 votes cast Tuesday, or 65.28 percent. Abramson received 103,270 votes, or 34.72 percent. He carried seven counties.
Hart said women take different experiences to the bench than men do.
“I think it’s probably a fair balance on the court,” Hart said. “You hope out of that mix you’ll have a fair and balanced court.”
Previously, justices Courtney Henry Goodson and Karen Baker were elected to the bench in 2010 and remain on the court.
Aside from Hart, Goodson and Baker also were judges on the state Court of Appeals.
The first woman elected to the high court was Annabelle Clinton Imber Tuck, who ran unopposed in 1996.
Three other women who have served were appointed to finish the terms of other judges and have since moved on. The first woman appointed to the court was Elsijane Trimble Roy in 1975 by Gov. David Pryor.
The first female chief justice, Betty Dickey, was appointed by Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2003.
Elana Cunningham Wills was appointed by Gov. Mike Beebe in 2008.
According to the National Center for State Courts, 20 states have a higher percentage of women on their high courts than Arkansas does. Of the 349 judges on those courts across the country, 121 - or 34.67 percent - are women, according to the center.
Nineteen states - including Louisiana, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas - currently have female chief justices on their highest courts, according to the center.
As to whether appointments get more women onto courts than elections do, an American Judicature Society review in 2002 - the most recent study on states where judges are appointed rather than elected - found that there is “no evidence that women and minorities are more likely to become state appellate judges under merit systems [appointments] than they are under non-merit systems [elections].”
The study found that women and members of minority groups are slightly less likely to be selected through an election than through appointment.
Beebe said the margin by which Hart won Tuesday was unexpected.
“The margin ... was probably the biggest surprise of the night,” Beebe said. “I don’t have a feel for why that margin was up because he [Abramson] spent more money than she did.” Abramson raised seven times more money than Hart did, according to the latest campaign disclosure reports, collecting $315,032 to her $44,763. Both candidates also loaned their campaigns money. Abramson loaned $46,944, and Hart largely self-financed her campaign with $115,155 in loans.
Abramson said Hart’s sex may have been a factor, but he doesn’t think it was the main reason she won.
“Voters have different thought processes on these things, and I’m sure there was a myriad of different things,” he said.
He pointed to the fact that while he and Hart serve on the state Court of Appeals, only Hart, who was elected to the court, was listed on the judicial ballot as “judge.”
Arkansas Code Annotated 7-10-103 specifies that only candidates elected to their positions on a court can use their titles on the ballot.
Abramson said not having the title next to his name “probably was the major factor.I think it should be changed, but I don’t have a lot of credibility right now.”
Abramson was appointed to the appeals court by Beebe in 2010. His term expires at the end of this year.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court Justice Robert L. Brown, announced last year that he will retire on Jan. 1, 2013, nearly two years before his term expires. Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said there are many people interested in being appointed to the seat. He would not say whether Abramson would be considered for it.
Abramson said it is too early to think about that position.
Arkansas, Pages 13 on 05/27/2012