Arkansas Court of Appeals Judge N. Mark Klappenbach has been appointed as chief judge of the Arkansas Court of Appeals by Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Karen Baker, the chief justice announced Tuesday.

The Court of Appeals is the second-highest court in Arkansas and ranks below the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Klappenbach started his term as chief judge on Jan. 1 and replaced Chief Judge Brandon Harrison, according to a news release issued by the Arkansas Supreme Court late Tuesday afternoon.

“Chief Justice Karen Baker thanks Judge Harrison for his service as Chief Justice.”

The chief judge of the Arkansas Court of Appeals is appointed by the state Supreme Court chief justice and serves a four-year term, according to the state Supreme Court’s news release.

In 2020, then-Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Kemp appointed Harrison to serve a fouryear term as the chief judge of Arkansas Court of Appeals, succeeding Rita Gruber, effective Sept. 1, 2020. Harrison, who is from Fort Smith, was first elected to the court in 2012 and reelected to a second eight-year term in 2020.

The state Court of Appeals’ chief judge is paid a salary of $212,647 a year, and the court’s other 11 judges are paid a salary of $209,452 a year.

Klappenbach was ini

tially elected to the Arkansas Court of Appeals in 2016 and then reelected to the Court of Appeals in 2020.

Prior to serving on the Arkansas Court of Appeals, Klappenbach worked for more than 31 years in the legal and accounting fields, including work as a public defender, deputy prosecuting attorney, and in private practice, according to the Arkansas Supreme Court’s news release. He is a lifelong resident of Fordyce; he is married and has an adult daughter.

Baker said Tuesday that she appointed Klappenbach as chief judge because she believes he would be the best choice.

She said Klappenbach is from a small town and understands the issues of rural Arkansas.

Klappenbach said in the state Supreme Court’s news release that “I am honored and grateful that Chief Justice Baker chose me to be the chief judge.

“I appreciate her dedication to the rule of law, her leadership, and her faith in me. I will do my utmost to fulfill the obligations of this position with dignity, humility, and a keen understanding of the trust placed in me,” he said.

Klappenbach received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Louisiana Tech University in 1981 and received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law in 1984. He holds both an attorneys license and a certified public accountants license. Baker’s announcement of her appointment of Klappenbach as chief judge of the Arkansas Supreme Court comes amid a clash at the Supreme Court over the employment status of 10 court staffers.

Baker sought to terminate 10 employees last Friday, including the director of the Administrative Office of the Courts. However, five justices attempted to block the action, issuing a per curiam that asserts Baker did not have the authority to do so.

On Monday, justices issued another per curiam that reappoints a Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission member and appoints two new members. The per curiam — the second issued from the court in as many business days — also accuses Baker of improperly attempting to appoint three other people to the panel in a move made mere minutes into the new year.

The Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission investigates and can discipline judges, according to the panel’s website.

Baker said Tuesday that she didn’t consider it improper to make the appointments she believes she has the authority to make under Amendment 80 to the Arkansas Supreme Court.

“I attempted to reach a resolution” with the majority of the court and was unable to do so, she said.

Monday’s per curiam states Arkansas Code Annotated 1610-402(c) allows the chief justice to autonomously appoint members to the commission but asserts it does not apply to the present situation, however.

“That provision applies only ‘(i)f a commission member or an alternate commission member moves out of the jurisdiction, ceases to be eligible for appointment to represent the category for which he or she was appointed, or becomes unable to serve for any reason, a vacancy shall occur’ and ‘the appropriate appointing authority fails to act within sixty (60) days from the occurrence of the vacancy.’”

Baker’s appointments did not take place within that “very narrow set of circumstances,” the opinion states.

Baker said Tuesday that she plans to issue an order on Wednesday, but she declined to disclose the details of that order.

Monday’s per curiam reappoints Circuit Judge Earnest Brown of Pine Bluff to the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission. It also appoints Circuit Judge Thomas Smith of Bentonville to the panel, replacing Court of Appeals Judge Cindy Thyer, and Troy Braswell of Conway, replacing former Circuit Judge Mark Lindsay.

“The court expresses its gratitude to Judge Thyer and Judge Lindsay for their service,” the opinion states.

Baker concurred regarding Brown and Smith, but dissented with regard to Braswell, according to the per curiam. Womack concurred, but added, “I still assert that the Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission is unconstitutional as it is currently structured.” Hudson did not participate.

Brown’s and Thyer’s terms had expired, while Lindsay left the bench after his term as a circuit judge expired Dec. 31, according to the per curiam.