Terry seeks election to district judge job

Sebastian County District Court Judge Sam Terry has announced he is seeking election to the Sebastian County District Judge, Division I, post. Election for the seat, now held by Judge Amy Grimes, will be held March 5, 2024.

Terry was appointed July 2022 by then Gov. Asa Hutchinson to fill the vacated term of Sebastian County District Judge Claire Borengasser who retired June 1. Terry’s appointed term ends Dec. 31, 2024. He is not allowed to seek election to an appointed post.

He is the former prosecuting attorney for the city of Fort Smith, a former deputy prosecuting attorney for Sebastian County, and served as law clerk to Chief U.S. District Judge P.K. Holmes III. Terry previously served as district judge from 2019-2020, and was appointed as a Special Associate Justice for the Supreme Court of Arkansas.

Terry earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas. Prior to his appointment he was the prosecuting attorney for the city of Fort Smith, and of counsel with the Fort Smith-based firm of Smith, Cohen & Horan. He is a member and past president of the Sebastian County Bar Association, a member of the Arkansas Bar Association, and a former member of the Arkansas Bar Association’s House of Delegates. He is a member of the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal’s Forty under Forty Class of 2018.

Terry has served as a member of the Fort Smith Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Education Committee, has served as chairman of the Sebastian County Election Commission, president of the HOPE Humane Society, and president of the Children’s Emergency Shelter Foundation. A graduate of Leadership Fort Smith, Terry is a trustee of the Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, the Fort Smith Museum of History, and the Children’s Shelter.

“I am excited for the opportunity to continue serving as a District Judge,” Terry said in a statement. “During my time on the bench, I have developed a very strong working relationship with my colleagues and attorneys who share our vision for a court that is fair, impartial, and equitable to all. District Court is often the first and only contact that citizens have with our court system, and it is important that we represent the judiciary well.”