Gov. Asa Hutchinson expects to appoint a new judge for the 13th Circuit, Division 4 position by the end of his term, according to the Governor's Office.
"The appointment process takes time, and a decision is not expected until at least December 15," Shealyn Sowers, a spokesperson for the Governor, told the News-Times last week.
Sowers did not respond to additional questions including potential candidates for the position.
Hutchinson's term ends on January 10, 2023, when Governor-Elect Sarah Huckabee Sanders will be sworn in as the state's 47th governor.
The circuit judge position was left vacant when Judge Robin Carroll resigned on Friday, November 18 via an email to Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice John Dan Kemp.
As the 13th Circuit, District 4 judge, Carroll saw cases including criminal cases in Calhoun, Dallas, Ouachita and Union counties and civil cases in Calhoun, Cleveland, Columbia, Ouachita and Union counties. He also handled some probate cases in Calhoun County, according to Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporting.
Carroll resigned following an 18-month suspension handed down by the state Supreme Court based on the results of an investigation by the state Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission that found several separate cases of judicial misconduct by Carroll.
In their 18-page report of the investigation, the JDDC recommended that Carroll be suspended for 90 days without pay, with 30 of those days held in abeyance.
The Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the JDDC to submit the entire record of the investigation on October 21 and received the files on October 24. On November 18, the state Supreme Court - deeming the 90-day suspension recommended by the JDDC "insufficient" - elected to suspend Carroll for 18 months without pay with 6 months held in abeyance, or postponed based on certain conditions.
Circuit judges are required to have been licensed attorneys in Arkansas "for at least six years" based on Arkansas Constitution Amendment 80, and serve six-year terms. Carroll won re-election unopposed in 2020; Gov. Hutchinson's appointee will take over this term of office and would be eligible to run for re-election in 2026.