Constitution of Arkansas (2025 publisher edition) — Amendment 9: SUPREME COURT.

Publisher edition notice: This collection preserves the complete constitutional appendix of the Secretary of State’s 2025 Election Laws and Constitution compilation: its preamble, twenty original articles, schedule and 104 published amendments, including annotations and explicit repealed notices. Repealed notices remain historical publisher context. Later amendments have not been independently verified.

Amendment 9

AMEND. 9. SUPREME COURT.
Publisher’s Notes. This amendment was proposed by
the General Assembly at the 1923 session (see Acts 1923,
S.J.R. 1, p. 796) and approved at the general election of
Oct. 7, 1924, by vote of 52,151 for and 40,955 against. It
was declared adopted in Brickhouse v. Hill, 167 Ark. 513,
268 S.W. 865 (1925).
Effective Dates.
Ark. Const. Amend. 9, § 3: effective 60 days after approval
and adoption by the people of the State of Arkansas.
§ 1. Enlargement — Sitting in division.
The Supreme Court shall be composed of five judges, one of whom shall be styled Chief Justice
and elected as such, any three of whom shall in every case be necessary to a decision. Provided
if it should hereafter become necessary to increase the number of the judges of the Supreme
Court, the Legislature may provide for two additional judges and may also provide for the court
sitting in divisions under such regulations as may be prescribed by law; provided further, that
should the court sit in divisions, in all cases where the construction of the Constitution is
involved, the cause shall be heard by the court in banc, and in all cases when a judge of a division
dissents from the opinion therein, at the request of the Chief Justice, or such dissenting justice,
the cause shall be transferred to the court in banc for its decision.
Publisher’s Notes. Acts 1925, No. 205, § 1, increased
the number of judges to seven.
§ 2. [Repealed.]
Publisher’s Notes. Ark. Const. Amend. 94, which re-
pealed this section effective November 5, 2014, was pro-
posed by H.J.R. 1009 during the 2013 Regular Session and
adopted at the November 2014 general election by a vote of
428,206 for and 388,459 against.
Before repeal, this section read:
“ § 2. Compensation of judges.
“The Supreme Court judges shall at stated times receive
compensation for their services to be fixed by law. When
the salary of the judges under this amendment to the
Constitution shall have been established by law, such
salary shall not thereafter be increased or diminished
664 Amend. 6, § 6 CONSTITUTION OF ARKANSAS

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during their respective terms. Until otherwise provided by
law, the judges of the Supreme Court shall each receive a
salary of Seven thousand five hundred dollars per annum.”
For current provision concerning compensation of justices,
see Ark. Const., Art. 19, § 31.