Justice Robin Wynne
Education: J.D., University of Arkansas School of Law, Fayetteville; Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas
Prior Elected Office or Public Service: Current Supreme Court Justice; former Court of Appeals Judge, former Dallas County District Judge
Community Service: Our House, Arkansas Food Bank and active in Pulaski Heights UMC. Board Member of Arkansas UMC Conference of Ordained Ministry.
Do you believe there is underrepresentation of women or people of color in the courts system? If so, how would you work to correct the problem? Yes. Fortunately, we have a majority of women on the Supreme Court. There definitely is an underrepresentation of people of color in our court system. I am the only Supreme Court Justice who has a person of color on my staff. He is my administrative assistant and an attorney. I have always advocated for more minority hires and elected officials in our court system.
An independent, fair and impartial judiciary is indispensable to our system of justice. Do you think Rule 4 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which governs political and campaign activities of judges & judicial candidates, goes far enough to ensure public confidence in the court's role as a neutral decision-maker? I think that it does. But I do believe that we need to address "Dark Money" in our Judicial Code.
Rule 2.4 from the Code of Judicial Conduct addresses external influences on judicial conduct. Should members of the Supreme Court consider the broad societal impact that their decisions have? Or should they never consider the fact that an issue is controversial, novel, or likely to affect many citizens in a profound manner? We should apply the law regardless of the interest from the public. Our oath requires us to comply with the rule of law as prescribed by our Federal and State Constitutions, Statutes and precedents of our courts.
Noting that candidates can make campaign promises about judicial administration and court management, what rules or policies would you suggest to help improve the efficiency of the Supreme Court? Since the Supreme Court issues rules that govern court administration in the entire judiciary, what rules would you suggest to help improve organization and court management for the whole judiciary? I believe that our Administrative Office of the Courts does a good job. I certainly think there is always room for improvement. As issues come to our court's attention, we have always addressed them in a timely manner and will continue to do so. Amendment 80 gives us superintending authority over the judicial system and we have taken that responsibility seriously and will continue to do so.
To what extent do you believe that appellate courts should or should not defer to the actions of a legislature? What is your view of the court's role in a system of checks and balances? We are a co-equal branch of government with the legislative and executive branches. There is a presumption that legislation is constitutional. In every case, I apply the rule of law and do not look at issues before us in terms of deferring or not deferring to actions of the legislature. I believe that all branches of our government play a role in a system of checks and balances.