Arkansas Blog: Glaze retiring from Supreme Court

We'd already written that candidates were maneuvering to run for Associate Supreme Court Justice Tom Glaze's seat in 2010, after his expected retirement at the end of this term, but the opening will come sooner than expected.

The judge, who's had health problems, is retiring more or less immediately. The Supreme Court is currently in summer recess. Glaze talked about his decision Monday with Gov. Beebe, who'll appoint an interim justice until 2010. The judge agreed to stay on until the court's fall term begins so the appointee can make arrangement to end his or her current work and prepare to take up court duties. Glaze won't be taking additional cases.

Glaze told friends of his decision in a letter this week. He'll fall just shy of 30 years on the court.

On the jump you'll find Glaze's letter.

LETTER FROM JUSTICE GLAZE

There is a time and season for all things, as the proverb goes, and I have concluded that the time has arrived that I should leave the work that I have loved and that your friendship and help over the past forty-four years did so much to nurture. I will shortly announce my retirement as associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, but I do not want to do so without first thanking you and other great friends for helping me at some pivotal juncture in what I please myself to think has been a career of public service.

That includes my work at the old Election Research Council, with Winthrop Rockefeller, Pulaski County Legal Aid, the office of Attorney General Joe Purcell where we rewrote the election code, and then successive tenures on the bench at Pulaski Chancery Court, the Arkansas Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court.

I am well aware that whatever goals that may have been achieved at every point along the way were attributable to you and to other friends who gave a helping hand and encouragement when I simply had to have them. I am simply overcome with gratitude when I reflect on the blessings of having family and friends who, while perhaps disagreeing on some matter upon occasion, expected and trusted me to do the task with integrity and honesty.

You know of my intense love of baseball, so I find the valedictory of Lou Gehrig at Yankee Stadium appropriate for my own: "Today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

Thank you, my friend.

Sincerely,

Tom Glaze

Comments

Judge Glaze's name comes to me now out a total void, which I take to be a good thing. I wish him well in his retirement and in his health issue, unless someone can point out some reason to do otherwise. He writes good paragraphs.

Posted by: widj | August 12, 2008 09:19 PM

Any chance the govnah will be a profile in courage and appoint Wendell Griffin, considering the judge's lopsided loss in the last election? I'm not necessarily advocating it, just asking.

Posted by: durangokid | August 12, 2008 09:25 PM

No chance, durango. Arkansas judges are selected through a nonpartisan election, not appointed by the guv.

Even if Beebe wanted to appoint him, he couldn't.

Posted by: Veritas Arkansas | August 12, 2008 10:54 PM

Veritas,

It is true that judges in Arkansas are elected through nonpartisan elections. However, when there is a death or resignation of the elected judge, the Governor does get to appoint a person to fill the remainder of the term.

So, yes, the Governor could appoint Wendell Griffin to replace Justice Glaze. Will he do so? Not likely, in my opinion.

Arky

Posted by: Arky | August 12, 2008 11:23 PM

Aaaah fair enough.

Griffin put himself above his position, which is a big part of why he lost IMO.

Posted by: Veritas Arkansas | August 12, 2008 11:34 PM

I have been looking forward to 2011 since it was reported that Glaze would not seek re-election. Christmas has come early!

Posted by: Pippy | August 13, 2008 08:28 AM

I recommend circuit judge Marion Humphrey for the appointment.

Posted by: mouthinfreely | August 13, 2008 08:54 AM

Ellen Brantley is my pick if Beebe wishes to appoint a Little Rock Judge. She is experienced and knows equitable issues. If outside Little Rock, I would think that Jody Mahony would be an interesting justice.

Posted by: thenaturalstate | August 13, 2008 10:28 AM

"I recommend circuit judge Marion Humphrey for the appointment."--mouthinfreely

That's a joke, right?

As for possible appointments, I doubt that any judge currently sitting on a circuit court would want the appointment unless they were looking to leave the bench in 2011 anyway. Under Arkansas law, an appointed judge cannot run for the seat to which he/she is appointed, so any appointment is essentially a temporary appointment with no possibility of becoming permanent. I suppose a judge could use the position as a means of running for a different seat on the court or a seat on the Court of Appeals (I believe Judge Roaf followed a similar path to the Court of Appeals), but I can't see a sitting circuit court judge with a secure position wanting to take a temporary appointment to the Supreme Court.

Posted by: Gaddis | August 13, 2008 10:41 AM

I am delighted that Judge Glaze's exit offered the Morning News another opportunity to repeat Judge Glaze's criticism of the Arkansas Supreme Court's decision to NOT award legal fees to the good citizen in Fort Baptist who took on the city and won, not once, but twice.

Mr. Harris is out a lot of money because he stuck his neck out and took on the city. Not very often will an average guy stick his neck out to the tune of about 10 thousand dollars to force a government entity to act right.

"Hereafter, only the wealthy or the news media can afford to bring lawsuits against public officials, who choose, like the city of Fort Smith, to refuse to follow the dictates of the FOIA," Glaze wrote.

Wouldst that we had more people like Glaze and Harris on the US Supreme Court and in our destroyed Justice Department.

Posted by: Deathbyinches | August 13, 2008 11:10 AM

I don't know him but I know that as a whole the not so supreme court has hurt the citizens of Arkansas by some rulings they've made!
Arkansas is a communist state now thanks to the not so supreme court.

Posted by: chasv | August 13, 2008 12:17 PM

Arkansas Blog

Glaze retiring from Supreme Court

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