Judge Gunner DeLay
Education: J.D. from University of Arkansas at Little Rock Law School; B.S. in Business Administration from University of Arkansas
Prior Elected Office or Public Service: Current Circuit Court Judge; former State Representative; former State Senator
Community Service: Candidate did not provide a response.
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? It does not appear that women are under-represented on the bench. Here in Arkansas women hold the majority of seats on the Supreme Court, and where I live in Sebastian County, eight out of 12 judicial positions are held by women. Also the US Supreme Court has four women on the high court. So it seems women are doing well in the judicial system. However, minorities are another matter. I think the answer is we need to cultivate an interest in the law among our minority communities through education and intern programs.
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 the idea that party affiliation somehow corrupts legal decisions is absurd. For most of our state’s history we elected our judges through the partisan election process. My opponent was first elected as a Democrat. I do not believe the decisions rendered by partisan judges are null and void. Voters need as much information about judicial candidates as they can get. I am the conservative choice for the Supreme Court. My opponent wants to prohibit judicial candidates from using that word to describe their campaign. I would be opposed to further limit free speech in regard to the election of judges.
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? No they should not. Societal impact should be considered by legislators. They are the policy makers. Judges that want to consider societal impact are legislating from the bench. That is what my opponent wants to do. I want to follow ONLY the law.
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 would expand use of Zoom hearings when practical.
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? I am a firm believer in the separation of powers. The legislature should not invade the province of the courts and the courts should not legislate from the bench. I believe my experience as a a former legislator gives me a good perspective on this issue.