Circuit Court Districts

This data delineates the Circuit Court District Boundaries of Arkansas. It was derived from the Census 2000 block boundaries. Judicial sub-districts are included in the file by a court order known as the Hunt Decree that was ordered by the US District Court, Eastern District Arkansas on November 7, 1991. (Eugene Hunts v State of Arkansas No PB-C-89-405). The purpose of this decree is to provide African American voters improved and equal access to the political processes for electing judges to the trial courts of the general jurisdictions in the State of Arkansas and to enhance the political participation and awareness of all citizens. Voting is a right inherent in citizenship in the State of Arkansas and in the United States. This right specifically includes the right to creation by the State of judgeships and the redistricting of judicial districts in such a way as not to dilute the voting strength of African America voters. The remedy ordered by this court will not disturb the existing district lines of the present judicial districts except to the extent that it creates electoral sub-districts with the First, Second, Sixth, Tenth and Eleventh West Judicial Districts for the purposes of election only. All judges elected from the electoral sub-districts will exercise jurisdiction district-wide in their capacity as circuit, chancery or circuit-chancery judges. There will be no sub-district residency requirement. No changes in any of these sub-districts or in the allocation of judgeships among them may be made except by order of the Court. The sub-district polygons representing these judicial sub-districts ordered by the court are titled as follows: 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 6.1 6.2 10.1 10.2 11W.1 11W.2 The original case was brought by Hunt in 1989. The analysis creating the sub-districts was based upon the 1990 Census data. On March 29, 2002 the court amended the original order by stating, “The United States Census Bureau did not use the identical geographic boundaries in publishing the 2000 census report, and the Secretary of State has been unable to exactly replicate the earlier maps that were based upon the 1990 Census Report. The boundary changes are minimal and largely based upon the census geography and the new maps being submitted for the Court’s approval are more detailed than those produced in 1992 when the Amended Consent Decree was entered. The boundary changes will clarify the sub-district lines for the public. Under the 1992 Amended Consent Decree changes in the sub-districts may only be made by Order of this Court. The changes in the demographic population percentages in the sub-districts attached as Exhibit “A” as compared to the sub-districts ordered under the Amended Consent Decree are negligible. The Court’s approval of the attached maps will further the original purpose of the 1992 Amended Consent Decree which was designed to create opportunities for African Americans to elect Circuit Court judges in a manner consistent with Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act as amended. The Court therefore ORDERS, ADJUDGES, AND DECREES that the Joint Motion be and is hereby GRANTED and Court continues to retain jurisdiction of this matter pursuant to the Amended Consent Decree of September 24, 1992.

Data available online through the Arkansas Spatial Data Infrastructure (http://gis.arkansas.gov). The subject file represents the Circuit Court District boundaries for the State of Arkansas. Other geographic information contained in the files includes the attribute of the Circuit Court District number.

Arkansas Secretary of State

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