Justice Robin Wynne has died

Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Robin Wynne died Wednesday night, according to an email from the Administrative Office of the Courts released Thursday (June 22).

Wynne, 70, was re-elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court to a second eight-year term in 2022. He was first elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2014.

“It is with great sadness that I must share with you the news of the passing of Justice Robin Wynne last night. Please keep his family in your thoughts during this tragic time. He was a valued member of the Arkansas Judiciary and his loss will be keenly felt,” Marty Sullivan, director of the Administrative Office of the Courts, said in a Thursday morning email.

Wynne received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1975 and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Arkansas School of Law in 1978. He attended the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas from 1979 to 1980.

He ran unopposed in 2012 for District 5 seat on the Arkansas Court of Appeals. Wynne, originally from Fordyce, was also a Democratic state representative in the 1980’s and served as deputy prosecuting attorney and Dallas County District Judge before joining the Court of Appeals.

He is married with four children. Funeral arrangements are unknown at this time.

Gov. Sarah Sanders issued a statement regarding Wynne’s passing:

“Bryan and I are saddened to learn that Justice Robin Wynne has passed away. His service to our state was immeasurable, from his days as a hard-charging Dallas County prosecutor to his decade at the highest reaches of the Arkansas legal system in the Supreme Court. Not long ago, Justice Wynne welcomed me into his office to discuss the state we both loved so much. I will treasure the note he sent me afterward, with its deft use of scripture reflecting the years Justice Wynne spent in divinity school earlier in his life. Justice Wynne could have been anything – a pastor, a politician, a businessman – and chose instead to devote his life to Arkansans and the law. For that, we are all eternally grateful. Our deepest condolences are with his family and all those who knew him,” she said.

Talk Business & Politics will continue to update this story today.