UA Law Professor Howard Brill Is New Chief Justice

Longtime University of Arkansas School of Law professor Howard Brill is the state’s new chief justice.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced his selection Tuesday morning at the Capitol, saying that Brill has experience, respect in the legal community, the “judicial temperament that can bring people together in the Court,” and the right philosophy. He said he had known Brill more than three decades.

Brill has been a professor at the School of Law since 1975, was the interim dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law in 2005-06, and is the first Vincent Foster Professor of Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility. He is not a judge, but he has served as a special associate justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court several times.

“He reflects what I want in a judge, which is judicial restraint, which is constitutional fidelity and to the rule of law,” Hutchinson said.

Asked about his judicial philosophy, Brill said, “My philosophy is to follow the law and uphold the law and apply the law.” He declined to compare himself to any current U.S. Supreme Court justices. He said the justice “becomes in some way, visibly the face of justice for the people of Arkansas.”

Brill assumes the position effective Sept. 1.

The appointment became necessary after previous Chief Justice Jim Hannah announced he was resigning Aug. 13, citing health reasons.

The Supreme Court developed a rift as it failed to rule in the state’s Wright vs. Arkansas gay marriage case. Two justices, Hannah and Justice Paul Danielson, wrote blunt letters explaining their decision to recuse from a case over which of the justices should decide the case. Asked about that situation, Brill said, “I’m not looking backwards. I’m looking forward. I’m looking forward as to what my role should be to lead the Court in the challenges and the caseload and the responsibilities that come to us.”

After the announcement, Justice Robin Wynne said, “I found his answer very interesting in that he’s looking forward rather than backwards, and I think we have to do that, and I think he’ll make a good fit on the court and provide the kind of leadership at this point that we need to move forward.”

As a professor, he has taught two of the justices, Wynne and Justice Courtney Goodson. Justices Wynne, Jo Hart, Karen Baker, and Rhonda Wood attended the announcement.

“He’s smart,” Wynne said. “He is a good teacher. He pushed me as a student, made sure that I had done my reading, and so I think that if he’s as good a justice as he is a professor, then I think the governor’s made a great appointment.”

Under the Arkansas Constitution, Brill cannot run for re-election when his term ends in 2016. He can run for another seat on the Court but said he does not plan to do so.

“I’ve been a professor for 40 years. I love it. I love it. I was in class at 9 o’clock yesterday morning with incoming students talking about jurisdiction. I love that experience,” he said. “So after one-and-a-half years, I envision that I will be returning to the classroom.”

Brill graduated from Duke University in 1965 and then taught English language and African literature with the Peace Corps in northern Nigeria. He earned his law degree from the University of Florida Law School, where he was editor-in-chief of the Florida Law Review He has taught at the Universities of Florida, Illinois, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee and practiced law with a firm in Illinois.

Hutchinson said he had “well over a dozen” recommendations for the post. He said a judge he had considered for the appointment texted him praising the decision and saying he regularly calls upon Brill for counsel.