Chief Justice John Dan Kemp retires after eight years; court praises technology and civics initiatives

On Dec. 12, 2024 the Arkansas Supreme Court formally recognized Chief Justice John Dan Kemp upon his retirement after eight years serving as chief justice, the court’s per curiam proceedings state.

The court’s statement outlines Chief Justice Kemp’s career: he graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1973 and earned his law degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1976; he served as a city attorney and municipal judge; he was elected circuit judge to the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit in 1986 and served from 1987 to 2016, including as a drug-court judge from 2003 to 2016. The court noted that Kemp began service as Chief Justice in January 2017 following his election and that under his leadership the judiciary adopted Arkansas’s first strategic plan. The per curiam entry credits him with advancing technology across the judiciary — implementing e-filing in all 75 counties, migrating court computer systems to cloud-based computing, and leading the development of a new case-management system — and with opening the Arkansas Civics Education Center in 2024.

The court’s statement thanked Chief Justice Kemp for his public service and conveyed well wishes for his retirement, noting travel plans with his wife, Susan, and a return to their Mountain View home. The court’s per curiam record conveys appreciation for his contributions to the state judiciary but does not include additional biographical detail beyond what is recorded in the published proceedings.

Why it matters: transitions in the chief justice role reflect leadership changes at the top of the state judiciary and can affect ongoing administrative priorities such as court technology, case management and civics education initiatives. The court’s per curiam statement identifies specific administrative projects undertaken during Kemp’s tenure but does not state future leadership plans in the excerpted proceedings.