Gruber appointed chief judge of Court of Appeals

Judge Rita Gruber will take office as chief judge of the Arkansas Court of Appeals in January, Supreme Court Justice Howard Brill and Chief Justice-Elect Dan Kemp announced Thursday.

Chief judges are appointed by the chief justice and serve four year-terms.

Gruber was elected to the Court of Appeals in 2008 and re-elected in 2016 after serving as a circuit judge in the Sixth Judicial District for 18 years. She also was an interim county judge of Pulaski County.

She replaces Chief Judge Robert Gladwin, whose term ends Dec. 31.

Gruber earned her law degree from the UALR William H. Bowen School of Law and serves on the law school’s Leadership Advisory Board. She is married to Judge Wayne Gruber.