Arkansas Supreme Court Associate Justice Paul Danielson announced Tuesday morning that he will not seek re-election after his term ends next year.
Danielson said in a statement that he would not seek re-election to the state's highest court at the end of his Dec. 31, 2016, term to avoid forfeiting his retirement benefits. Arkansas Code 24-8-215 requires justices to retire by age 70 or else they lose their retirement benefits.
"Were it not for the state law prohibiting me from seeking re-election without forfeiting my retirement benefits, I would continue to seek re-election as long as the good people of this state would have me,” Danielson said.
Danielson won his seat on the state's highest court in a 2006 contested election to replace Justice Jim Hannah, who had been elected as the court's chief justice. He went on to win re-election in 2008 to serve a full eight-year term.
The associate justice was previously the 15th Judicial Circuit judge from 1995 to 2006. He previously served as a law clerk for state Supreme Court Justice Frank Holt; worked as an instructor at what was the University of Arkansas School of Law at Little Rock; served as a deputy prosecuting attorney; practiced as a private attorney; and served as the Booneville city attorney for several terms.