Judical Discipline and Disability Commission

BIOGRAPHIES of the
JUDICIAL DISCIPLINE & DISABILITY COMMISSION

CHAIRMAN
CHRIS E WILLIAMS
(JUDGE MEMBER)
Malvern, Arkansas

VICE CHAIRMAN
ATTORNEY JOHN EVERETT
Fayetteville , Arkansas

REV. MAXINE ALLEN - (PUBLIC ALTERNATE MEMBER) is the first African American woman to be Ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church in Arkansas. The daughter of Charles and Ruby Wilkerson, she attended and graduated from Little Rock public schools. Allen holds a degree in Philosophy and Religion from Philander Smith College, Little Rock, Arkansas; and a Master of Divinity Degree from Interdenominational Theological Center�s Gammon Seminary (UM), Atlanta, Georgia. Currently she serves as the Director of the Wesley Foundation at UALR and Minister of Ethnic Ministries for The Arkansas Conference of The United Methodist Church. She has served as a pastor, a teacher of religion, a mentor of young clergy, and participated in mission trips to Haiti, Jamaica, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia. She has two adult children and a granddaughter. She is an advocate for educational opportunity for all, women�s and children�s issues, and has served on the Minority Teacher Recruitment Council as an appointee of Governor Huckabee, Rev. Allen was appointed to the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission in 2007 by Governor Mike Beebe.

MARY H. BASSETT � (PUBLIC ALTERNATE MEMBER) is Co-Owner and Executive Broker of Bassett Mix and Associates, Inc. Real Estate Company in Fayetteville. She has been licensed as a realtor since 1984. From February 2004 until March 2005, she has served as a chairman of the Arkansas Real Estate Commission. Mary was appointed to two 3 year terms and as a member of the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO) was elected vice-chairman of the Commission Training Board. She has served in numerous real estate related positions including past President and Realtor of the Year for the Fayetteville Board of Realtors, chairman of Risk Reduction Committee for AR Realtors Assoc. (ARA), ARA Director-at-Large, ARA Education Committee, ARA Professional Standards Committee, ARA Nominating Committee, taught statewide education seminars on real estate ethics as sponsored by ARA, and was chosen six times to represent the State of Arkansas in development and item writing of the Arkansas and National Real Estate exams thru ASI and Promissor. Realtor designations that Mary holds are Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Graduate of the Realtor Institute (GRI), and ARA Life Member Multi-Million Dollar Club. Mary is married to Hank Broyles and has two children, John Bassett and Jennifer Bassett-Stumaugh.

ROGER CARTER – (PUBLIC MEMBER) is a native of Ozark, Arkansas and has lived in Hot Springs since 1966. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He then graduated from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, with a B.S. degree. He worked as Staff Assistant to Harry L. Oswald, Arkansas State Electric Cooperatives, and in 1973 purchased Aluminum Arts of Arkansas. Although semi-retired, he is still active in the Company. He is president of the Shepherd Center of Hot Springs and on the board of the Salvation Army. He is Vice-Chairman of Community Counseling Services; a member and past President of Oaklawn Rotary; an active member of Chamber of Commerce Ambassadors, and last year was nominated for Man of the Year. Mr. Carter and his wife, Jeanie, are members of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he twice served on the Vestry.

CHARLES F. (CHUCK) DEARMAN, JR. – (PUBLIC MEMBER) is a lifelong resident of Monticello, Arkansas. He is married to the former Cindy Eubanks of Monticello and has two children, Haley a senior at UA Fayetteville and Chad a freshman at UA Fayetteville. Mr. Dearman is a 4th generation owner of Stephenson-Dearman Funeral Home, Inc. of Monticello. He is a member of National Funeral Directors Assoc., Past President of the Arkansas Funeral Directors Assoc., Past President of the Southeast Arkansas Funeral Directors Assoc. He is also a commercial real estate developer. Mr. Dearman is a member of Selected Funeral & Life Insurance Company Board of Directors located in Hot Springs, is a member of the Monticello School Board and has served on the Monticello School Board for 12 years (two terms as President), He is a member of First United Methodist Church of Monticello, having served as Administrative Board Member and Chairman of Pastor Parish Relations Committee, Mr. Dearman is a former member of Monticello/Drew County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and a former President of the Drew County United Way, He currently serves as a member of Union Bank Board of Directors. Chuck Dearman was appointed to the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission by Governor Mike Beebe in 2007. Mr. Dearman received his undergraduate BS degree in Accounting from the University of Arkansas at Monticello and received his MBA in Accounting from Louisiana Tech University.

JOHN C. EVERETT - (ATTORNEY MEMBER-VICE CHAIR) is an attorney living in Fayetteville, Arkansas. He graduated from Arkansas Polytechnic College in Russellville, Arkansas with a B.A. degree in political science and economics. He received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas in 1970. He is a member of the Washington County Bar Association, the American Board of Trial Advocates, where he has previously served on the National Board of Directors, and is a Fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers. He was on active duty in the United States Navy from 1970 through 1974 as a member of the Judge Advocate General Corps. He was a member of the Prairie Grove School Board for approximately eight (8) years and is a member of First Presbyterian Church of Prairie Grove, Arkansas. He was appointed to the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission in August 2000 by Lieutenant Governor Winthrop P. Rockefeller. Mr. Everett was reappointed to the Commission in 2007 by Speaker of the House Benny Petrus replacing Attorney Michael Gott.

TOM FOWLER - (ATTORNEY MEMBER) -

DON E. GLOVER - (JUDGE ALTERNATE MEMBER) - is a native of Dermott, Arkansas where he currently resides. He attended AM&N College, now UAPB in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. He has served 2 years in the Peace Corp. in Venezuela, South America and is a veteran of the Vietnam War. He received his law degree from Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. He is a member of the Arkansas and Louisiana Bars. He was engaged in private practice for many years and served as Dermott Municipal Judge for 6 years before he was elected to the bench as circuit judge in the 10 Judicial District in 1993. He and his wife Dorothy, are the parents of Dorcedar, a graduate of the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and Doven, a junior, at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

BLAKE HENDRIX - (ATTORNEY ALTERNATE MEMBER) J. Blake Hendrix was born in Memphis and raised in Little Rock, where he graduated from Catholic High School for Boys. After attending the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, he received his law degree from the University of Arkansas in 1986. He then served as an Assistant Arkansas Attorney General and, for the past twenty-two years, has devoted his practice to criminal defense, specializing in complex criminal litigation, including white-collar and death penalty defense. In 2012, the Arkansas Speaker of the House appointed Mr. Hendrix to the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission. His awards include membership in The National Trial Lawyers Top 100 Trial Lawyers, nomination to the list of Best Lawyers in America&61666; in criminal defense each year since 2006, and Best Lawyers? ?2013 Little Rock White-Collar Lawyer of the Year.? Education J.D, University of Arkansas School of Law, Fayetteville, 1986 B.A., University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, 1983 Bar Admissions Arkansas, Federal District Courts of Arkansas, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Memberships and Activities Arkansas Bar Association - Criminal Law Section (past Chair), Editorial Board for Handbooks, Time Standards Task Force; Arkansas Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers - past Vice-President and Editor-in-Chief; Criminal Justice Act Panel (past national representative); National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission.

JUDY SIMMONS HENRY � (ATTORNEY ALTERNATE MEMBER) is a partner with the law firm of Wright, Lindsey & Jennings LLP where she chairs the business litigation practice. She was born in Texarkana, Arkansas. She has a B.S.E. from the University of Central Arkansas and an M.E. from the University of Arkansas. Mrs. Henry also received her J.D. from the University of Arkansas in 1984. She was an intern for U.S. Senator David Pryor, Washington, D.C., and a law clerk for U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern and Western Districts of Arkansas, Judge James G. Mixon. Her affiliations include the American Bar Association (Business Law Section), Arkansas Bar Association (Debtor-Creditor Rights Committee, Chair 2002-2003; Business Law Committee, Chair 2005); Pulaski County Bar Association, Debtor-Creditor Bar Association of Central Arkansas (Vice President/President-Elect 1990, President 1991) . She is also an NFLPA certified contract advisor representing eligible collegiate football players. Ms. Henry serves as faculty member of Arkansas Professional Practicum 2005-2006. She has served as a Special Justice to Arkansas Supreme Court. Ms. Henry is a member of the Baptist Health Board of Trustees, former board member of The Children�s Museum of Arkansas, active in Volunteers in Public schools and former member of Arkansas Children�s Hospital Committee for the Future. She is author of the publication, Recovery of Creditors� Costs From the Bankruptcy Estate: Reasonable, Necessary, and...Uncertain?; editor/writer, Debtor-Creditor Bar Association of Central Arkansas Newsletter from 1985 - 1999; contributing editor, Arkansas Bankruptcy handbook; co-author, �Don�t Let Your Bankruptcy Cases Bankrupt You�Keep on Top of Bankruptcy Cases,� The Community Connection, Arkansas Community Bankers Association. Ms. Henry was appointed to this Commission by Attorney General Mark Pryor in 2001. Honors include The Best Lawyers in America (2005 -2010 ); Outstanding Lawyer in America (2003-2005); recognized as Arkansas Best of CLE by the Arkansas Bar Association (1998-2008); recognized as Super Lawyer for Southern Region of the United States in field of business litigation and recognized as one of the Top 50 lawyers in Arkansas for 2006; and Chambers USA, 2009 and 2010.

KIRK JOHNSON (JUDGE MEMBER) - JUDGE KIRK DOUGLAS JOHNSON is Circuit Judge for Division Three of the Eighth Judicial Circuit, South, comprised of Miller and Lafayette Counties in Southwest Arkansas. He is licensed member of the bar for the State of Arkansas and formerly licensed in the State of Texas. He graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1971 with a bachelor�s degree in Business Administration and from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville in 1974 with a Juris Doctor degree. He is the former President of the Texarkana Bar Association. Judge Johnson was Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for Miller County from 1977-1982. He served as Prosecuting Attorney for the Eight Judicial District from 1983-1986 which was comprised of Miller, Lafayette, Nevada and Hempstead Counties. He served as District Judge for Texarkana, Arkansas and Miller County, Arkansas from 1991-2002. He was elected to the Board of Directors for the District Judges Association and served as Secretary, Treasurer and later as 1st Vice President. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Alternate Dispute Resolution Committee for the Arkansas Judicial Council and was appointed by the Arkansas Supreme Court to the 2005 Committee for the revision of the Arkansas Model Criminal Jury Instructions and reappointed in 2009. He was appointed by Governor Mike Huckabee to serve on the Arkansas Crime Laboratory Board in 1998 thru 2005. His private practice has included the general practice of law but has also served in the capacity of counsel for both Plaintiffs and Defendants in multi-party litigation. Judge Johnson has presided over a number of nationwide class actions cases since taking the Circuit Court bench in 2003. Judge Johnson is currently serving on the Judicial Disciplinary Committee since his appointment in 2012.

STEPHEN ROUTON - (JUDGE ALTERNATE MEMBER) - Stephen Routon has served as the St. Francis County District Court Judge in Forrest City since 1991. He earned a B.A. degree in 1976 from Hendrix College. He attended University of Arkansas Fayetteville School of Law, graduated and was admitted to the Arkansas Bar in 1979. Judge Routon has been in private law practice in Forrest City since 1979 and has two sons, Stephen, age 21 and David, age 18. Judge Routon was appointed to the Commission by the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2002 to fill the unexpired term of alternate member Judge Leon Jamison.

SAM SEAMANS – (PUBLIC MEMBER) The Rt. Rev. Sam Seamans is a retired Police Officer of 25 years, and is also a Bishop in the Reformed Episcopal Church, and he serves as the Rector of St. Thomas Anglican Church in Mountain Home, AR. Originally from Louisiana, Sam earned his bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1990. While in college he worked for the USL University Police Department and attended Police Academy in 1986. After graduation he moved to Mountain Home where he continued his law enforcement career, retiring as a Lieutenant in 2011. He now serves the MHPD part time in the Code Enforcement Division. While working in full-time law enforcement, Sam was active in ministry and was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas in 2001. During that formation period he earned a Master of Ministry degree from Trinity Theological Seminary in Newburgh, IN. He was ordained an Anglican priest in 2005 and was elected and consecrated as a bishop in 2009. He currently serves as Vice President of the Board of Foreign Missions in the Reformed Episcopal Church, and also sits on the Board of the Anglican School of Ministry, an Anglican seminary in Little Rock, AR. Sam is also an Emergency Medical Technician, a licensed Private Pilot, and a long distance cyclist. He is active in fund raising for Special Olympics Arkansas through the Torch Run and Polar Plunge drives. He is married to a native of the Czech Republic who is a Physical Therapist, and they have two children.

DERRICK W. SMITH (ATTORNEY MEMBER) is an attorney in Little Rock, Arkansas. A native of Marianna, Arkansas, he received his B.A. degree in 1997 from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. Mr. Smith received his Juris Doctorate with honors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in 2000 where he served as Assistant Executive Editor of the Law Journal and President of the Student Bar Association. After serving as a law clerk for the Honorable Olly Neal of the Arkansas Court of Appeals, Mr. Smith joined the law firm of Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, P.L.L.C. He is a member of St. Mark Baptist Church and serves on the boards of Youth Home, Inc. and 100 Black Men of Greater Little Rock. He is also vice chairperson of the Hendrix College Alumni Association Board of Governors and Secretary/Treasurer of the Young Lawyers Section of the Arkansas Bar Association.

DR. CHERYL FELDER-STUART - (PUBLIC ALTERNATE MEMBER), is an Arkansas Gold Star Mom graduated salutatorian of her high school class where she and two of her cousins integrated the public schools in Okolona, AR, she received her BS Degree from Arkansas Baptist College, MSE Degree from Ouachita Baptist University and her PhD in Public Administration from Century University. A licensed Social Worker she is retired for the State of Arkansas Department of Human Services, and currently serves as Founder and CEO of the CPT Arthur "BO" Felder Service Center as an advocate for soldiers and dependents counseling in separation, grief, death and dying. She was appointed as a chartered member of the Arkansas Early Childhood Commission by Governor Clinton July, 1989 appointed for a second term which expired in 1995 by Governor Tucker, the past President of the Arkansas Human Services Employees Association, and past president of miller/Lafayette county NAACP Branch." Currently she serves as the president of the Lafayette-Miller District Women's Auxiliary, on the Lafayette County Library Board, Director of the Youth Department of the Arkansas Congress of Christian Education, the Director of the Young Adult Division of the National Congress of Christian Education and as the President of her Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She spends most of her time writing and designing workshops modules, teaching in the USA, Germany and the Dominican of the Republic. She has been resented in Who's Who in the National Baptist Convention USA, INC, received a Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters, the 2005 Harriett Tubman Award, 2010 outstanding Community Award and the 2011 Arkansas Council of Deliberation Gold Eagle. A mother, grandmother, member of the St. James Baptist Church and the order of Eastern Star.

REX M. TERRY- (ATTORNEY ALTERNATE MEMBER) - Rex Terry is a member of Hardin, Jesson & Terry, PLC, in Fort Smith. He is engaged in general practice, including commercial, transportation, and oil and gas litigation, transactional and probate matters. He graduated with a BA degree in History from Ouachita University in 1973, and earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in 1976, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Arkansas Law Review. He is a Fellow of the Arkansas Bar Foundation, a member of the Sebastian County, Arkansas, and American Bar Associations, and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. He has served as a Special Justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court, and as member and chair of its continuing Legal Education Board. Active in the community, Terry has served on the Board of Directors of the Western Arkansas Counseling and Guidance Center, Advisory Board of Sparks Regional Medical Center, and as a member of the Fort Smith Civil Service Commission. He has served as a member of the Sebastian County Board of Election Commissioners, and is currently a Commissioner of the Fort Smith Housing Authority. He is a member of St. John's Episcopal Church. He was appointed to the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission by Lieutenant Governor Mark Darr.

CINDY THYER - (JUDGE ALTERNATE MEMBER) Judge Cindy Thyer received a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1992 and received her Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1995. After practicing law in a general practice focusing on domestic relations litigation, Judge Thyer was appointed circuit judge by Governor Mike Huckabee in 2005 and again by Governor Mike Beebe in 2007. She was elected to her first judicial term in 2008. She has been active in the Arkansas Bar Association for many years by serving in the House of Delegates and on the Board of Governors, and by serving as Chair of the Young Lawyers Section and Chair of the Board of Governors. She has also been an active member of the Association's Legislation Committee and the Arkansas Supreme Court's Jury Instruction Committee. She is also a member of the American Law Institute and presently serves on the board of the Arkansas Bar Foundation. Presently, she is a member of the Arkansas Judicial Council's drug court and trial committees and enjoys her time on the bench hearing primarily criminal, civil and dependency-neglect cases.

JOYCE WILLIAMS WARREN (JUDGE MEMBER) Joyce Elise Williams Warren is the first black person ever elected to a state level trial court judgeship in the State of Arkansas. She currently serves as 10th Division Circuit Judge for the 6th Judicial District, which comprises Pulaski and Perry Counties, Arkansas, where she presides over juvenile and domestic relations cases. Educational preparation for Judge Warren's career was attained at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock where Judge Warren received a B.A. In Sociology and Anthropology. She was the first black female graduate of the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law, completing her Juris Doctor Degree in 1976. She has done graduate work at the Summer College for Juvenile and Family Court Judges at the University of Nevada at Reno. In 2002, Judge Warren earned a Diploma of Judicial Skills through the American Academy of Judicial Education. The Arkansas Supreme Court appointed Judge Warren to a six year term as an alternate member of the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission in June of 2006. She is a member of the American, National, Arkansas and Pulaski County Bar Associations; the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; the National Association of Women Judges; the Arkansas Judicial Council; the Arkansas Association of Women Lawyers; and the W. Harold Flowers Law Society. She is married to James M. Warren, Executive Director for Support Services at the Pulaski County Special School District. They have three adult sons.

CHRIS E WILLIAMS - (JUDGE MEMBER-CHAIRMAN) lives in Malvern and was a Municipal Court Judge for the City of Malvern from1992 through December 31, 2002. In 2002, Judge Williams was elected to become Circuit Judge of the 7th Judicial District, Division I, beginning January 2003, and was also appointed by the Arkansas Supreme Court to the Arkansas Court Automation Project Committee. Judge Williams received his B.A. degree from Henderson State University and J.D. degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. He had a law practice in Malvern from 1981 to 1992. He is past President of the American Judges Association and a member of the American Bar Association, American Trial Lawyers Association, Arkansas Bar Association, and the Arkansas Trial Lawyers Association. He is a member of the First United Methodist Church where he is the Chair of the Administrative Board. He has served in the past as Chair of the Board of Trustees and the Pastor Parish Committee. He is a member of the Gideons and Lion’s Club. Judge Williams served as Juvenile Referee from 1982-1986, City Councilman from 1984-1986 and City Attorney from 1986-1992. The Arkansas Supreme Court appointed Judge Williams to the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission in May 2001.