Third Division Circuit Judge Bill Benton won his third, six-year term Tuesday after facing down a challenge from attorney Mack Norton.
Meanwhile, Fifth Division Circuit Judge Jodi Dennis also retained her seat despite a challenge from attorney Luther Sutter.
Final, but unofficial results were:
– Benton – 4,561 votes
– Norton – 4,254 votes
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
And:
– Dennis – 10,602
– Sutter – 1,952
Benton was first elected to the bench in 2002 and reelected in 2008.
In his time on the bench, he said he has heard more than 16,000 cases and is assigned to hear domestic relations and probate cases, which include custody, visitation, support, domestic violence, guardianship, adoptions and mental and alcohol commitments.
Norton has been in private practice for 35 years and is a partner in the law firm of Brockman, Norton and Taylor.
He is currently vice president of the Jefferson County Bar Association and has served as a special judge in both district and circuit courts when the regular judge was unavailable.
Dennis became the first female circuit judge in the 11-West Judicial District when she was appointed to the Second Division to replace the late Judge H. A. Taylor in 2004 by former Gov. Mike Huckabee. She was elected to the Fifth Division in 2006 and handles both criminal and civil matters.
Dennis has been both a deputy prosecutor and deputy public defender.
Her opponent, Sutter, moved to Jefferson County this year and said he did so to challenge Dennis, who disqualified him from a case.
He is the attorney for the Pine Bluff School District.