The Arkansas Supreme Court is flipping conservative for the first time in history following Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders nominating U.S. Attorney Cody Hiland to the vacant position.
“I am pleased to announce that I have selected another former prosecutor and a U.S. Attorney, Cody Hiland, for this role,” Sanders said during a press conference at the Arkansas State Capitol, in which she honored the life of Democrat Supreme Court Justice Robin Wynne, 70, whom she referred to as a “legal titan.” Wynne, who was elected to the Supreme Court in 2014, passed away nearly two weeks ago.
Hiland, Sanders said during the announcement, will bring “a lifetime of legal experience to the job from his early days as a staff attorney in state government and an aide to my dad, who is also here today.”
“He made service to Arkansas the centerpiece of his career,” she said, noting that he was “twice elected prosecuting attorney for the 20th Judicial District” and “served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas from 2017 to 2020.”
She continued to highlight Hiland’s credentials:
Under his leadership, the office produced an unprecedented 82% increase in criminal cases in that time. Cody’s commitment to law and order is unparalleled. After the end of the Trump administration, Cody became chief legal counsel for the Arkansas Department of Public Safety. And last year, Cody stepped down from that role to join me in my campaign for governor. … Together, we crafted the Safer, Stronger Arkansas legislative package that I had the privilege of signing this year to clean up the crime on our streets. And after the campaign, our fellow Republicans selected Cody to lead the state party under this new administration.
“Today, like so many times before, Cody is stepping up again and making another sacrifice to serve the people of Arkansas. It will be impossible to fill Justice Wynne’s shoes on the Supreme Court,” Sanders said, adding that “Cody’s decades of experience, even temperament and love for our state and the rule of law, bring him closer than anyone else could.”
Perhaps most notably, Sanders highlighted the fact that Hiland’s nomination will mark the “first time Arkansas Supreme Court will have a conservative majority.”
“I know it will have the same effect on our state as it has had on our country. Cody’s highest loyalty will be to the Constitution and the rule of law. That’s all we can ask from our justices,” she added.
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The nomination comes as Sanders continues to pursue a conservative agenda in her state, signing a bill requiring individuals to use the restroom that corresponds with their biological sex — not their gender identity — in schools.
In March, she also signed a measure, the Monument to Unborn Children Display Act, authorizing the building of a monument on State Capitol grounds to honor babies aborted during the Roe v. Wade era. According to the bill, there were at least 236,243 elective abortions performed in the state between 1973 and 2022.