The race to replace retiring Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce is a three-way contest that seems unlikely to be settled in Tuesday’s election.

Little Rock attorneys Brent Eubanks, Robert Cortinez and Brooke-Augusta Ware are each seeking the six-year judgeship, described on the ballot as Circuit Judge, District 6, Division 17, Subdistrict 6.2.

But the position, which pays $192,918 annually, will only go to a candidate who captures more than half of the votes. Otherwise, the two candidates who collect the most ballots will compete in a November runoff.

Eligible voters are all Perry County residents and Pulaski County residents who live in the northwestern two-thirds of the county. Those voters must live somewhere in precincts 1-15, 17-52, 56-115, 121-127 or 136-137.

Judicial candidates run in nonpartisan elections that are held simultaneously with the state’s political primaries. Early voting ends Monday at 5 p.m, then the polls open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. If a runoff is necessary, that election will be held in conjunction with the November election.

Pierce’s successor will take office on Jan. 1. All three candidates, who can be found on social media, are experienced attorneys. Eubanks, electeubanks.com, is a law clerk for Circuit Judge Mike Reif who oversees domestic and probate cases. Cortinez, cortinezforjudge.com, is in private practice with his fa

ther at the firm founded by the senior Cortinez 50 years ago, and represents clients in civil and criminal matters. Ware, brookeforjudge.com, is a senior litigation attorney in Arkansas for the Cordell & Cordell firm, which specializes in domestic litigation.

Eubanks, 43, said he knows how stressful family court can be, both as an attorney representing clients and as a single full-time father of two who’s been a client.

“As a full-time, single father of teenagers, I’ve been in these situations — I know firsthand what it’s like when your life, and the lives of those you love the most, are in these courts,” he said. “Children should not be the parents’ battleground. We must protect these children while treating the parties with fairness, dignity, and respect. That’s why I’m running for circuit judge.”

Eubanks was licensed in 2008. His experience includes 15 years of handling civil litigation and probate issues as a partner in the Little Rock firm Humphries, Odum & Eubanks. He said working for Reif in recent years has given him a deeper perspective into family law.

“My experience with probate and domestic relations court hasn’t always been academic, nor has it always been pleasant. Like many, I’ve experienced divorce and have been through a custody battle — not only as a lawyer, but as a child and an adult — so I understand and appreciate the difficulty in coming to agreements with matters relating to custody, visitation, and extracurricular activities, and trying to craft a reasonable, workable solution that is best for the kids,” he said. “These are delicate matters, and one size does not fit all. My experience working in and being a party to these courts allows me to see a case from all angles, which makes me the best candidate.”

Cortinez, licensed in 1991, said he will bring the know-how gained from spending decades in courthouses in Little Rock and around the state to the job.

“After 30 years of practicing law, I would like the opportunity to give back more to my community, while helping ensure a just and fair result to all who come before the court,” he said. “My experiences over the last 30 years in the courtroom — the interactions with the family who are my clients — have given me invaluable insight to the interaction between the courts and litigants who appear before the court. Traditionally, the focus of the 17th Division judgeship is family law. I’ve maintained an active family law practice throughout my career, however my practice also extends to other civil law areas, as well as criminal law.”

As a judge, Cortinez, 60, said his priority would be treating the litigants who come to his courtroom with compassion and respect, just as he’s served his clients.

“I have always treated all my clients with the compassion I would want for someone in my family. I pay attention to every detail so that I can give them the best possible legal representation,” he said. “I have always sought to provide the average man, woman and child with the opportunity to ensure that their cases are treated with care, compassion, dignity and respect.”

Ware, licensed in 2004, said she wants to use the knowledge she gleaned from working shoulder-to-shoulder with two circuit judges — Collins Kilgore and his successor, Mike Reif — as their law clerk to help families go through family court.

“I want to help families who are going through incredibly difficult transitions. I have a passion for public service that has been ingrained in me since childhood,” said Ware, 44. “This is my opportunity to serve the people of Pulaski and Perry counties with the deep knowledge of family law I’ve developed over the last 20 years.”

Family law runs the gamut from “birth to death, anything that changes the structure of your family: divorce, custody, adoption, guardianship, and many other topics, including domestic violence cases,” she said.

“I am a family law attorney and practice in trial courts across the state of Arkansas. I believe the voters in Pulaski and Perry County deserve a judge who understands the needs of families, family law, and how to apply the law to families at a time they are at their most vulnerable,” she said. “I have served hundreds of families across the state in their family law cases and have achieved wonderful outcomes for them: reuniting parents with children, securing single-parent adoptions, and protecting survivors of domestic violence.”

Some of her courtroom experiences have been more painful to acquire than others, Ware said. She said she knows what it’s like to be a defendant there.

The owner of a condominium at 1401 N. Pierce St. in Little Rock, Ware was sued in 2018 and 2021 in circuit court by the complex’s homeowners association over its efforts to collect fines it has assessed against her involving disputes over property upkeep.

She resolved the 2018 litigation with the Forest Heights Condominium Owners Association in 2019 by paying $3,035, including the group’s legal fees, while the 2021 litigation was settled confidentially last month.

“We had a valid dispute about whether they were meeting their obligations and whether I was meeting my obligations. We litigated it and came to a settlement to the satisfaction of everyone,” she said.

“So what should voters take away from it? I defended myself. I stand up for people for a living. That’s what I do in family law. And that’s what I did in my personal life. I stood up for myself in this business transaction that went awry.”

Pierce’s seat was one of three that came open on the circuit bench this year. Pierce, 69, retired from the circuit bench under a provision of the law nearly 30 years old that requires circuit judges, Court of Appeals judges and Supreme Court justices to forfeit their retirement benefits if they take office after turning 70. Pierce said he’s not ready to retire, so he’s running for Little Rock District criminal-court judge against longtime prosecutor Jill Kamps.

The other two judicial candidates are unopposed. Melanie Martin, the current Little Rock District criminal-court judge, is set to take over the seat that came into play when Judge Barry Sims retired in February 2022.

Karen Whatley, Sims’ successor by appointment of then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson, will succeed Judge Morgan “Chip” Welch after no one challenged her for the seat. Welch, 73, has also been forced to retire from the circuit court. Like Pierce, Welch does not want to retire, so he’s seeking the Pulaski County district judge seat in a contest with Perryville attorney Beth Burgess.