Attorney Alex Guynn took an early lead over Pine Bluff City Attorney Althea Hadden-Scott Tuesday night and held that lead in their race to replace retiring 11th West Judicial District Judge Berlin C. Jones in the court’s First Division.
With 181 of 202 precincts reporting, unofficial Jefferson County results were as follows:
Guynn: 2,174
Hadden-Scott: 1,590
The district also includes Lincoln County and with four of eight precincts reporting, Guynn had 454 votes to 192 for Hadden-Scott.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Guynn, who is currently in private practice, has worked as a public defender, a special judge in both district and circuit courts, as an attorney ad-litum representing children who are in the juvenile court system and as a federal public defender.
He formerly worked as an attorney for Walmart in the legal and ethics departments and as a clerk for Chief Judge Robert Dawson in the Federal District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
Hadden-Scott said she is the more seasoned of the two, having practiced law for 17 years, serving as both a deputy prosecuting attorney, an attorney in private practice, served in the military and is in her second term as Pine Bluff City Attorney, where she is called upon to draft legislation and interpret the law for the administration and general public.
The Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts, an arm of the State Supreme Court, requires each judicial district in the state to submit a plan laying out the role each judge in the district is going to play in the administration of justice, be it civil or criminal. The plan for the 11-West District shows that Jones handles 54 percent of the criminal cases in the district, and is also in charge of drug court.
Guynn is a member of the Drug Court Foundation, a non-profit organization set up to assist the drug court with funding.