Arkansas Supreme Court Justice launches podcast with peers from other states

Justice Rhonda Wood of the Arkansas Supreme Court can add a new title to her resume: podcaster.

Wood and three other female justices from other states have launched “Lady Justice: Women of the Courts,” a new podcast that explores educational content on how the court system works in different states to how justices are selected or elected to the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who inspired women on and off the court.

In addition to Wood, the podcast features Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Bridget McCormack, Texas Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman, and West Virginia Supreme Court Justice Beth Walker. Wood said the podcast was an outgrowth of collaborations in other areas.

“We have worked on different projects together sort of two of us here, three of us there,” she said. “This summer, when the COVID pandemic hit, I asked the three of them to do a joint YouTube interview with my granddaughter to create educational content about the Supreme Court and our roles and what we do at our various courts. We’ve loved working together. And so from that, we said, ‘let’s keep doing projects with the four of us.'”

The podcasts launched last month and include topics such as how state constitutions differ, how the appellate courts operate in different states, and how Supreme Court justices are chosen.

The latest podcast has Wood and her peers discussing the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

“I think that all of us looked up to her. Coming up in the legal profession and not just as a Supreme Court Justice, we looked up to her as a litigator and as you know, I taught law school and that was my history. So I looked up to her as a law professor and then becoming a Justice as well,” Wood said.

You can watch Wood’s full interview in the video below.