Arkansas governor appoints temporary justice to state Supreme Court

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed attorney Cory Cox to temporarily serve on the state Supreme Court for Justice Barbara Webb, who is recovering from a head injury sustained during a fall.

Webb has been absent from the court since May, when she injured her head in a fall, and has been recuperating in Houston. Chief Justice Karen Baker last week requested Sanders appoint someone to fill in for Webb as she recovers.

“Cory is a highly accomplished attorney, has decades of government experience, and is a dedicated public servant,” the Republican governor said in a statement. “As we pray for Justice Webb’s recovery, I know Cory has the character and work ethic to serve on the Court and uphold our Constitution.”

When a justice is temporarily unable to serve, the Arkansas Constitution requires the governor to appoint a special justice to take their place.

Cox previously served as Republican Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge’s chief of staff when she was attorney general. He was also deputy legal counsel for Sanders’ father, former Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee, during his time in office.

Cox said he was “deeply honored” by the appointment. The court is nonpartisan, but Republican-supported justices hold a 5-2 majority, including Webb.

“I pray that Justice Webb makes a full and speedy recovery. Until that time, I look forward to working with the Court’s other justices to uphold Arkansas law and protect and defend the rights of Arkansas citizens,” he said in the press release.

Webb’s absence first became known on May 12, when Baker wrote to the governor that she was temporarily unable to serve on several appeals the high court was set to hear. Cox was subsequently appointed to hear those cases, both involving special elections, where lower courts had ruled Sanders violated the state constitution in the way she scheduled them. 

The Democratic Party of Arkansas, the plaintiffs in the case over House District 70’s special election, objected to his appointment and argued Sanders could not select a special justice to hear a case where she was the defendant. 

The cases were ultimately dismissed as moot since the special elections had occurred in March, and Cox was never sworn in.

Webb’s injury was not made public until last month. Her husband Doyle Webb, a former chairman of the state GOP and Arkansas Public Service Commission chairman, said in July that he expected his wife would return for the court’s fall term.

Cox’s appointment runs until Barbara Webb returns to the Supreme Court, or Dec. 31, whichever comes first.