Little Rock's traffic judge Vic Fleming is poised to face his first challenger in years with the recent announcement that public defender Margaret "Peggy" Egan will seek to unseat him in the March elections.
Fleming, 67, took the bench in 1997 when Little Rock residents were the only ones allowed to vote in the race. Now, the position is titled state district judge, one of three in the city and six in the county, and all Pulaski County residents are entitled to vote.
The state district judges serve four-year terms with a salary of $147,084. Court records show 10,301 traffic cases have been filed this year as of Monday, with 16,636 filed in 2018.
The other two Little Rock judges are Mark Leverett, who presides over environmental and small claims/civil issues, and Melanie Martin, the criminal judge.
Last year, Egan, 61, ran against Martin for the criminal judge post. She amassed 10,806 votes in that four-woman contest, second only to Martin's 14,223. Martin won the ensuing run-off in November with 58,895 votes, 53% of the balloting, to Egan's 53,264 votes.
A teacher before becoming a lawyer in 2002, Egan has spent her legal career primarily as a public defender but also has handled juvenile-delinquency and child-neglect cases. Her most recent assignment is representing criminal defendants in Pulaski County District Court for the past three years.
Fleming was a commercial litigator specializing in real estate and employment law before being elected to the bench. He's been an adjunct professor at the William H. Bowen School of Law since 2003, teaching a course on law and literature.
He's also known for his proficiency as a wordsmith, writing books, Perry's Dead! (And the "Juice" Is Loose) and Real Lawyers Do Change Their Briefs. Fleming is also a crossword puzzle author whose work has been featured in The New York Times, including one that he co-created in 2017 with former President Bill Clinton.
District judge candidates who want to avoid paying the $4,420 election filing fee have until Sept. 19 to submit the signatures of at least 1,346 registered voters to the secretary of state -- 1% of the 134,667 Pulaski County residents who cast ballots in the 2018 governor's race.
Metro on 08/15/2019