Betty Dickey

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Betty Dickey (born February 23, 1940) is the first female to serve as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Arkansas.[1][2][3][4]

She was born in Black Rock, Arkansas on February 23, 1940 to Millard and Myrtle Clark.[5] Dickey earned her bachelor’s degree (1962) and Juris Doctor (1985) from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and Little Rock respectively. She initially worked as an educator before initially becoming an autodidact of law in the office of her former husband Jay Dickey, Jr., Esq.[6] In 1985, Dickey was admitted to practice law in Arkansas. She served as an Assistant City Attorney for Pine Bluff, Arkansas and the City Attorney for Redfield, Arkansas while developing her own private practice.[7]

On January 5, 2004, then Governor Mike Huckabee appointed Dickey as the interim Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Arkansas. Prior to the appointment, Dickey had served as staff attorney for the Soil and Water Conservation Committee, prosecuting attorney for the Eleventh Judicial District and chief legal counsel in the Governor's Office. Although Dickey was appointed on an interim basis, she was the first female in the court's history to serve as chief justice. Her successor, Jim Hannah, was elected to the position in November 2004 following a special election and Dickey stepped down on January 1, 2005. Governor Huckabee thereafter appointed Dickey to serve the remainder of Hannah's term as an Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, and she remained on the bench until December 2006.[7][6] In 2018, Dickey was appointed as a liaison for Preferred Family Healthcare.[8]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Justice league". Arkansas Online. 2017-11-05. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  2. ^ "Congressional Record". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  3. ^ "NEW CHIEF JUSTICE SWORN IN" (PDF). Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts. January 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-27.
  4. ^ "Crawford Honors Betty Clark Dickey, Arkansas' First Female Supreme Court Chief Justice". Congressman Rick Crawford. 2014-04-02. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  5. ^ "Betty Dickey". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2019-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b "Former Arkansas congressman Jay Dickey dies at 77". Arkansas Online. 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
  7. ^ a b Hawkins, Carol Hooks (2009-03-23). American Women Leaders: 1,560 Current Biographies. McFarland. ISBN 9780786452750.
  8. ^ Monday, Gwen Moritz; Apr. 16; Read, 2018 10:08 Am 1 Min. "Preferred Family Healthcare Hires Betty Dickey as Liaison". Arkansas Business. Retrieved 2019-09-06.


Political offices
Preceded by
 Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
2004–2006 		Succeeded by
James Hannah


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