Betty Dickey

Betty Dickey
Betty Dickey
Interim Chief Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
	In office; 2004–2005
Personal details
Born	Betty Clark; February 23, 1940 (age 84); Black Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Arkansas (BA); University of Arkansas at Little Rock (JD);

Betty Clark Dickey^[1] (born February 23, 1940) is the first woman to serve as the chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

She was born in Black Rock, Arkansas on February 23, 1940, to Millard and Myrtle Clark.^[6] Dickey earned her Bachelor's degree (1962) and Juris Doctor (1985) from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and Little Rock respectively. She initially worked as an educator before learning about the law in the office of her former husband Jay Dickey, Jr., Esq.^[7] In 1985, Dickey was admitted to practice law in Arkansas. She served as an Assistant City Attorney for Pine Bluff, Arkansas and the City Attorney for Redfield, Arkansas while developing her own private practice.^[8]

On January 5, 2004, then Governor Mike Huckabee appointed Dickey as the interim Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Arkansas. Prior to the appointment, Dickey had served as staff attorney for the Soil and Water Conservation Committee, prosecuting attorney for the Eleventh Judicial District and chief legal counsel in the Governor's Office. Although Dickey was appointed on an interim basis, she was the first woman in the court's history to serve as chief justice. Her successor, Jim Hannah, was elected to the position in November 2004 following a special election and Dickey stepped down on January 1, 2005. Governor Huckabee thereafter appointed Dickey to serve the remainder of Hannah's term as an associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court, and she remained on the bench until December 2006.^[8]^[7] In 2018, Dickey was appointed as a liaison for Preferred Family Healthcare.^[9]

References

^ Dumas, Ernest (February 20, 2018). Arkansas Supreme Court Historical Society Interview With Betty C. Dickey (PDF).
^ "Justice league". Arkansas Online. 2017-11-05. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
^ "Congressional Record". www.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
^ "NEW CHIEF JUSTICE SWORN IN" (PDF). Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts. January 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-12-27.
^ "Crawford Honors Betty Clark Dickey, Arkansas' First Female Supreme Court Chief Justice". Congressman Rick Crawford. 2014-04-02. Archived from the original on 2019-09-06. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
^ "Betty Dickey". Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
^ ^a ^b "Former Arkansas congressman Jay Dickey dies at 77". Arkansas Online. 2017-04-21. Retrieved 2019-09-06.
^ ^a ^b Hawkins, Carol Hooks (2009-03-23). American Women Leaders: 1,560 Current Biographies. McFarland. ISBN 9780786452750.
^ Monday, Gwen Moritz; Apr. 16; Read, 2018 10:08 Am 1 Min (16 April 2018). "Preferred Family Healthcare Hires Betty Dickey as Liaison". Arkansas Business. Retrieved 2019-09-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Party political offices
Preceded by Dan Ivy	Republican nominee for Arkansas Attorney General 1998	Vacant Title next held by Gunner DeLay
Political offices
Preceded by W. H. "Dub" Arnold	Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court 2004–2006	Succeeded by James Hannah