Tommy Fowler Appointed Circuit Judge
A deputy prosecuting attorney in Craighead County was appointed Monday night to fill the vacancy of a circuit judge who passed away last month.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson appointed Thomas “Tommy” Fowler of Jonesboro to serve as Division 2 circuit judge in the Second Judicial District.
Fowler will replace longtime circuit judge Lee Fergus of Jonesboro, who died July 20 at age 66.
Hutchinson said Fowler is qualified to serve.
“Tommy Fowler is well respected in the community and among those in the profession. He has the patience and judicial temperament to be an outstanding judge,” Hutchinson said.
Fowler served as the Deputy Prosecuting Attorney in Craighead County for 15 years and has practiced law at the Fowler Law Firm in Jonesboro for 17 years.
Fowler is a 1993 graduate of Arkansas State University where he received the R.E. Lee Wilson Award, the highest honor given each year to one graduating senior.
He received his Juris Doctor degree in 1998 from the University of Arkansas School of Law. Fowler has dedicated 28 years of service to the American Legion Arkansas Boys State and currently serves as its director.
In 2013, he was selected as the Volunteer Attorney of the Year in Arkansas’ Second Judicial District. He currently serves on the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission where he has served since 2012.
He is a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, the Craighead County Bar Association, and the Arkansas Prosecuting Attorney’s Association.
Fowler and his wife, Leslie, live in Jonesboro.
Fowler will serve until Dec. 31, 2016.
The position will be on the ballot at the non-partisan general election in 2016, while the person elected during the non-partisan general election will serve the remainder of the original term.
According to state law, candidates can file either by petition from Sept. 10 until Sept. 17, or by paying a filing fee from Nov. 2 until Nov. 9, at the Capitol in Little Rock.