Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday appointed two attorneys to fill open judge positions.
Hutchinson appointed attorney Kolby Harper of Gurdon as judge for the 38th District, which is made up of Hempstead and Nevada counties in southwest Arkansas, and Fort Smith attorney Sam Terry to fill a vacant judgeship in the Sebastian County District Court-Fort Smith District.
Harper will replace Judge Tony Yocom, who will retire July 31.
"Kolby Harper's experience as a deputy prosecutor in three different judicial districts has prepared her well for the job as judge in the 38th District," Hutchinson said in a news release. "Judges, prosecutors, and other attorneys who have worked with her are high in their praise of her knowledge of the law and her interaction with those she encounters in the court system."
Harper is a member of the Arkansas Supreme Court Committee on Criminal Practice and the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorneys Association. She has also served as a deputy prosecutor in the Twenty-Second, Ninth-East, and Eighth-North judicial districts.
"The decisions that district court judges render every day often have lifelong consequences," Harper said in a news release. "Judges rule on cases and issues that often hinge on narrow margins. I understand the need to balance the rights of the accused with the safety of the community. I am grateful to Governor Hutchinson for this opportunity to serve."
Terry will replace Judge Claire Borengasser, who retired June 1. Terry's term will begin July 18 and expire Dec. 31, 2024.
"Sam Terry is an energetic attorney who always steps up when there's a need for his skills," Hutchinson said in the release. "I saw firsthand Sam's integrity, wisdom, impartiality, and temperament when I appointed him as a district judge and as a Special Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of Arkansas. He will bring that same work ethic to this job, and I am grateful he was willing to step up again."
Terry is a past president of the Sebastian County Bar Association, a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, and a former member of the Arkansas Bar Association's House of Delegates. He also has served as chairman of the Sebastian County Election Commission, president of the HOPE Humane Society, and president of the Children's Emergency Shelter Foundation.
He is treasurer of the Fort Smith Museum of History.
"I am very appreciative of Governor Hutchinson's expression of confidence in me again to serve as a district court judge," Terry said in the release. "I am grateful for this opportunity, and I am eager to get to work for the citizens of Sebastian County."