FAYETTEVILLE — Voters in Washington and Madison counties voted overwhelmingly to keep incumbent juvenile court Judge Stacey Zimmerman on the bench.
The final, unofficial vote totals are:
- Zimmerman 29,469 (77%)
- Depper 8,953 (23%)
Zimmerman, 56, faced a challenge from Robert L. Depper III, 41, for the 4th Judicial District, Division 3 bench.
Zimmerman has served as the juvenile judge for the district, which includes Washington and Madison counties, since she was first elected in 1998. She was a deputy prosecutor in the district handling juvenile cases from 1993 through 1998.
Depper has owned Depper Legal Services since 2014. He was assistant director of the state Administrative Office of the Court’s Parent Counsel Program, where he focused on general legal services and family law.
The division hears juvenile cases including delinquency, dependent-neglect and family in need of services.
Circuit judges serve six-year terms, and are paid $172,298 a year.
Four incumbent judges whose terms end Dec. 31 are unopposed for re-election. They are Doug Martin in Division 1, John Threet in Division 2, Cristi Beaumont in Division 4 and Beth Storey Bryan in Division 5.
4th Judicial District
Division 8
Final, but unofficial results from Tuesday’s election show a runoff Nov. 3 will be required between Dianne Warren and Conrad Odom to decide who will be the new judge in the 4th Judicial District, Division 8 seat.
The final, unofficial, vote totals are:
- Warren 10,741 (28%)
- Odom 8,944 (24%)
- Snively 7,609 (20%)
- Hatcher 5,108 (14%)
- Hogue 5,373 (14%)
The state Legislature approved an additional circuit judge for the district last year. The new judge is expected to hear half the juvenile cases and some domestic relations cases. The new judge will take office Jan. 1.
Five candidates were vying for the seat, the other three are Mieka Hatcher, Brian Hogue and Tim Snively. All are Fayetteville residents.
•Odom, 54, has practiced law for 27 years with the Odom Law Firm and is a certified mediator. He served on the Fayetteville City Council and Fayetteville School Board.
•Warren, 55, is a former attorney ad litem, a lawyer appointed by a court to act as an advocate for the best interests of a minor. She is chairwoman-elect of the Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Section of the Arkansas Bar Association and has been selected to author an updated version of the Domestic Relations Handbook, a legal resource. Warren has operated her Warren Law Firm since 2012.
Washington County District Court
Division 4
Final, unofficial, results from Tuesday’s election put Terra Stephenson and Mark Scalise in a runoff in the race for District Court, Division 4, the seat being vacated by Judge William Storey.
Stephenson was ahead of David Dero Phillips and Mark Scalise. All are from Fayetteville.
The final, unofficial, vote totals are:
- Stephenson 17,566 (49%)
- Scalise 13,692 (39%)
- Phillips 4,026 (11%)
Stephenson, 45, is senior deputy prosecutor in the 4th District, where she assists supervising a staff of almost 40.
She has handled thousands of felony cases in every aspect of criminal law from homicides to sexual assaults and child abuse in her 13 years as a prosecutor.
Scalise, a lawyer for 27 years in Washington County and Philadelphia, is a former deputy prosecutor in Washington and Madison counties. His private practice areas include criminal, civil and intellectual property law.
Scalise, 59, has also worked in management and business development roles for companies such as Ingersoll-Rand, General Electric and J.B. Hunt Transport.
Phillips, 58, has been a deputy city attorney in Springdale since 2013.
Washington County is state District 1 and has four judges who hold court in different parts of the county. The positions are nonpartisan and voted on countywide.
Three incumbent district judges faced no opposition. They include Jeff Harper, Division 1, who holds court in Springdale, Johnson and Elm Springs; Graham Nations, Division 2, who holds court in Prairie Grove, Johnson, Farmington, Lincoln and Springdale and at the Washington County Detention Center; and Clinton “Casey” Jones, Division 3, who holds court in Greenland, West Fork, Elkins, Fayetteville and at the detention center.
District courts have jurisdiction over traffic violations, misdemeanor offenses, violations of state law and local ordinances, preliminary felony matters and civil matters involving contracts, damage to personal property and recovery of personal property where the amount in controversy doesn’t exceed $25,000.
District judges are paid $147,000 a year. Terms are four years. Judicial runoff election is Nov. 3.