Casey Tucker
Circuit Court District 6.2 Division 2 Candidate
Candidate introduction at February 9th Indivisible Judicial Forum at UALR Bowen School of Law
Age: 47
Law School and Graduation Year: University of Arkansas Fayetteville, 1997
Occupation: Attorney
Previous Elected Office: None
Community Service: Pro bono service to clients through Centers for Legal Services, active with 20th Century Club , which provides lodging and meals for cancer patients undergoing treatment, active with my Church, serving on the executive team for past four years, active in supporting Promise Keepers, mission trips with students, food drives, supplies/clothing for students, active and past board member at each of my children’s schools
1. What experience, knowledge, and attributes of yours make you believe you will be a good judge?
My passion for hard work and drive for equality and justice will make me a good judge.
I am the first person in my family to graduate college, and I’m the only person to earn her law license. I did that more than two decades ago, and the clients I represent are typically those who are least able to afford an attorney. Injured workers deserve a voice, grandparents and parents need resolution in domestic law matters, and everyday people need a strong advocate.
My best days are presenting a case to a judge and jury. I was recently honored as a Top 100 Attorney by the National Trial Lawyers Association. Such peer-reviewed nomination and selection process assesses expertise and success in a courtroom. I stand by my record of success and reputation for being both ethical and fair.
2. What are the three most important areas where the administration of justice can be improved at the circuit court level, and how would you implement improvement?
Setting cases for a fast resolution or trial. Excellent judges declare a schedule for trial and stick with it, absent unusual circumstances. Languishing cases and dockets force parties to spend needless money and delay, which costs taxpayer money, too.
Increase our commitment to pro bono service. We are privileged to practice law, and we must help those least able to afford representation in order for our justice system to work. We know the criminal justice system is overburdened because public defenders remain woefully unsupported and overtasked. Similarly, in civil matters, the same vulnerabilities occur for economically disadvantaged people. My law license represents my enduring obligation to uphold morality and justice.
Holding bad actors accountable. Ethics must remain at a very high level, and Circuit Judges are the referee to professionalism. As societal norms and social media give way to expediency, it lowers the level of discourse. A good judge must call time out to the few bad actors and expect high professionalism and ethics.
3. What changes if any can the court system make to reduce the numbers of juvenile and criminal offenders?
The Pipeline to Prison in juvenile matters is avoidable. If we treat our community’s children as criminals, then they will meet our expectations. When we invest time in providing juveniles with positive alternatives, vocational education, and drug treatment courts, we may see results.
Crime rates can be tied to whether we fairly administer education across socio-economic levels. Communities having the best public education attract more job opportunities, so I am hopeful our community can resolve the disparity in educational opportunity.
Crime rates are complicated by our opioid crisis. We have many well-intentioned people who are caught in an endless cycle of self-medication and prescription pill dependence. I applaud Attorney General Rutledge for seeking justice for so many Arkansans and against the opioid manufacturers. I am hopeful our judges will now have the will and a way to help a veteran, a juvenile, or a drug-addicted nonviolent offender. A good judge can connect those offenders to the proper resources using alternative sentencing, without adding to our overcrowded jail crisis.
4. Do you believe in leveling the playing field between pro se parties (parties without lawyers) and parties represented by counsel, and if so, how would your court do this?
Yes! Beginning with the fact that the ethics rules require attorneys to handle unrepresented persons with the utmost of care, I also believe a judge can ensure a level opportunity at justice. In the civil arena, a judge can do many things to ensure fair treatment. One example is to permit the pro se litigant added time and to offer fair explanation at a hearing. Another is to encourage the broader use of supervised law students in legal clinics. Another is for a judge to connect pro se litigants with information about free legal services. Another is to do as judges have done for many years – which is to call upon private attorneys and assign the pro bono case at the request of the judge. I have always represented those least able to defend themselves, including victims of crime or negligence. So, again, yes - I believe in leveling the playing field and have specific ideas on how to do so.
5. Do you believe that alternate dispute resolution (mediation and arbitration) should play a greater role in disputes that come to the circuit courts, and if so, how should that happen?
Yes! Mediation has a proven record of success in the civil arena and I have used many of the excellent mediators in our district. Several judges across the state, including federal courts, absolutely require the parties to mediate the matter or state good cause why the parties cannot do so. I would consider making such a rule in my court, subject to a case-by-case review.
My understanding of arbitration is that it has a mixed record of success across the country. Because it is extrajudicial, a final determination of the case by an arbitrator would be beyond my scope as judge. There are many benefits to arbitration, including the fact that it takes place out of the public eye, so those people interested in resolving conflict in private typically prefer arbitration.