John Dan Kemp Jr. (born September 8, 1951) is an American lawyer who has served as the chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court since 2017.[1]

Biography

Born in Batesville, Arkansas, Kemp attended Mountain View High School and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas in 1973, followed by a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1976. While attending the University of Arkansas, he was a member of the Gamma Upsilon chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity. Kemp was a city judge and city attorney in Mountain View before being elected as a circuit judge in Stone County, Arkansas in 1986, which position he held for 29 years.[2]

Chief Justice of Arkansas

In 2015, Kemp decided to challenge sitting Justice Courtney Rae Hudson for the Chief Justice position.[3][4] Kemp defeated Hudson to win the seat.[2]

References

  1. ^ The American Bench: Judges of the Nation, 2002/2003. Forster-Long, LLC. December 2002. ISBN 9780931398469.
  2. ^ a b Riddle, Brandon (March 1, 2016). "Kemp defeats Goodson in chief justice race for state's high court". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
  3. ^ Brantley, Max (November 6, 2015). "Judge Dan Kemp to challenge Courtney Goodson for chief justice". Arkansas Times.
  4. ^ "Sitting justice, circuit judge vying to be Supreme Court chief justice". Arkansas News. February 28, 2016.
Legal offices
Preceded by Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
2017–present 		Incumbent