An opportunity for public service, at the behest of Gov. Mike Beebe, is all the persuading Chris Palmer said he needed to put his law practice on hold for nine months to serve as a temporary judge on the 6th Judicial Circuit, which covers Perry and Pulaski counties.
The 54-year-old Palmer was named by the governor on Monday to take the place of Jay Moody, who was appointed by President Barack Obama to the federal bench and was confirmed last month as a U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas. Moody, who had been a circuit judge since 2003, has said he plans to go by the more formal James M. Moody Jr. in federal court.
Palmer will serve until the end of the year, the remainder of Moody's term. At that point, Cathi Compton, an assistant attorney general, will take over the office, because she was the only candidate to file for the election to replace Moody.
Acknowledging that a judge's pay, $138,982 annually, would be less than what he earns in private practice in civil litigation and criminal defense, Palmer said he's taken the post, which will prevent him from working as an attorney, in part with an eye on running for judge some day in the future. But he said he's also at a point where he can afford to pursue a career in public service.
"I thought it might be nice to do something you enjoy," Palmer said.
Palmer, who was licensed in 1985, has already served as a prosecutor in Pulaski County and has been a Beebe appointee to the Arkansas Public Defender Commission and the Criminal Detention Facility Review Committee.
He comes to the bench as the circuit's judges seek to reshuffle the caseload and at least one courtroom.
Palmer, who was sworn in Monday, will be trading courtrooms with Circuit Judge Mary McGowan who, as his senior, has claimed the second-floor court and chambers that Moody had occupied. Palmer will move to her much smaller offices on the third floor by the end of the month.
It's possible Palmer will also be getting a different caseload than Moody.
A quorum of judges on Tuesday voted to amend the circuit's case assignment plan, which will require approval by the state Supreme Court, so Circuit Judge Alice Gray will trade dockets with Palmer, who, as Moody's successor, inherited a docket of all civil litigation.
If the high court approves, Palmer will hear only domestic and probate cases.
Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce's civil caseload would also double under the plan, and some of Pierce's probate and domestic caseload would fall to Palmer.
Circuit Judge Vann Smith, the circuit's administrative judge, said the change means that for the first time in 22 years, since the Hunt Decree was enacted, no minority-group judge will hear probate or domestic cases.
The Hunt Decree is the 1992 settlement resulting from a federal Voting Rights Act lawsuit intended to expand black representation in Arkansas' judiciary.
Metro on 03/19/2014