Impeccable Integrity.

Integrity is the Absolute prerequisite for every judge.

I teach my own children the importance of integrity in their everyday lives through example and through expectation. In my home, my children are required to complete their task, however difficult. I encourage my own children to have a vision for their own lives. They demonstrate their respect for themselves and for others by using the forgotten words "ma'am" and "sir." In my home, there is a place for everything, and everything should be in its place.

Amendment 80, along with Canon 4 of the Judicial Ethics, requires that every judicial position in the state be filled through nonpartisan elections to insure an independent and impartial judiciary.

Any candidate who will tell you, either “on the record” or “off the record,” that he has a particular party affiliation in order to gain your support is violating both the spirit and the letter of the law. This practice might be politically expedient, but it demonstrates a lack of personal integrity. Would you rather support a candidate who will tell you what you want to hear or one who consistently adheres to the ethics rules?

It is the duty of judges to accurately apply the standards set forth in the Arkansas Constitution and laws enacted by the duly elected legislative branch. I agree with Chief Justice John Roberts' statement that judges do not have a commission to solve society's problems, as they may see them, but rather to decide cases before them according to the rule of law. I also agree wholeheartedly with Arkansas native, the late Judge Richard Arnold of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, who said, "the job of judges is to find the facts and apply the law, not their own wills." That’s why I have repeatedly stated that there is no room for partisanship, activism, or radicalism on the benches of Arkansas Courts.

Integrity, like Faith, isn’t something that can be proven empirically, but is attested to by the Fruits one bears. My moral compass was instilled during my developmental years and continues to guide my behavior.

Any judge can technically say he is qualified to sit at the Arkansas Supreme Court. However, my candidacy is much different because I have INVESTED my legal career in the service of Arkansas appellate courts. My analytical proficiency, ethics, and integrity have been tested by three distinguished Appeals Court Judges who found them to be solid. I have over eight years of Proven Performance at the ground level of appellate law working as an attorney and law clerk on 1,300 appeals cases. By the time a new Supreme Court Justice is sworn in, I will have decided more than 500 cases as a Court of Appeals Judge. Accordingly, on the day I'm given the oath of office, I will have worked on over 1,800 appeals.

The dedication of my legal career to the appellate level of the judiciary is only the recent and visible part of my connection to the law. Discover who I am and why I am proud to be an attorney and Appellate Judge by using the "My Story" page.