Attorney LaTonya Austin Honorable kicked off her campaign Tuesday to replace retiring Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Wendell Griffen.
Elected in 2009 to the Little Rock-based district that covers Pulaski and Perry counties, Griffen, 68, is stepping down when his term ends at the end of 2022.
In a news release, Honorable, 45, described her judicial philosophy as a "3-D platform," promising to use her discretion as a judge to decrease the negative perception of the court system while reaching a fair and equitable disposition of the cases in her court.
"I am a born and raised Pulaski County resident, growing up in southwest Little Rock and graduating from Central High School," she said. "With over 18 years of trial experience, I have worked across Arkansas, working and fighting for equity and equality for men, women and families."
The race will be Honorable's third contest. A defense attorney, ex-prosecutor and former Little Rock city attorney, she came in third in the 2019 countywide race for Little Rock District Court with about 35 percent of the vote.
Last year, she opposed Andy Gill in the race to replace Mary McGowan, who retired as a Sixth Circuit judge, but fell short by 6,928 votes in the contest, which covered Perry and Pulaski counties.
The race for Griffen's seat will involve a much smaller area. Only voters who live in the southwestern third of Pulaski County are qualified to cast ballots for his replacement.
The arrangement, known as the Hunt Decree, was enacted in 1992 to settle a federal Voting Rights Act lawsuit by creating Black-dominated voting precincts for judicial elections. The 1989 suit said Black residents had been denied equitable representation in the judiciary.
Named for lead plaintiff Eugene Hunt, the court-supervised settlement created Black-dominated voting precincts in 21 counties and 11 Black judgeships. In Pulaski County and Perry County, the settlement puts the decision on five of the Little Rock-based circuit's 17 judgeships in the hands of voters in 37 Pulaski County precincts out of the 136 precincts in the county.
Two Hunt Decree judges were elected last year, Tjuana Byrd and Shanice Johnson. The other two, Leon Johnson and Alice Gray, will be up for re-election in 2021, although they are not expected to draw any competition. Sixth Circuit eligible voters live in precincts 16-17, 44-48, 52-55, 78, 84-86, 98, 105, 112-122, 124-125 and 128-135.
The nonpartisan elections for circuit, appeals and the state Supreme Court are scheduled for May 24, 2022, a date they share with the state's partisan primaries for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, among other races. The judicial election season began last week.
Fundraising won't be allowed for about another six months, so candidates cannot solicit or accept campaign contributions until Thanksgiving, Nov. 25, about six months before the election.
Only lawyers can run for judge. Candidates for circuit judge must be state residents for at least two years who are at least 38 years old and have been licensed to practice law for at least six years prior to taking office.
Circuit judges earn $174,883 annually and serve six-year terms.