Prairie Grove Pair Seek District Judge Seat

PRAIRIE GROVE -- A change in the Arkansas courts system has two local attorneys seeking a new full-time District Judgeship in the upcoming non-partisan March 1 elections.

Sitting Prairie Grove District Judge Graham Nations, 44, and Casey D. Copeland, 39, are both running for Washington County District Court Judge, Division 2.

This will be one of four full-time District Court seats established in Washington County and differs from the former court system used in previous decades for small claims, traffic courts and minor criminal cases. In 2016, the district courts in Washington County will change to countywide elections for four division seats.

The winner will become a full time judge, paid $144,000 a year and cannot, by law, maintain a private law practice while serving as judge.

Nations has been a part-time District Court judge in western Washington County since 2005, when he defeated Lincoln attorney Boyce Davis for the position. Nations also has had a private law practice in Prairie Grove for the last 19 years.

Copeland has practiced law for the past 11 years. For seven of those years he was in private practice handling a variety of cases, including family law, business disputes and property issues. He currently is in his fourth year as a state contracted attorney ad litem for children and youth in nearby Fort Smith Circuit Court jurisdictions.

On March 1, this District Judge's race will be on every ballot in Washington County. It will appear on a non-partisan ballot and also on the Democratic and Republican Party preferential primary ballots in Washington County. With only two candidates there will not be a runoff.

While the position is a non-partisan position, both men have appeared at functions hosted by both the Republican and Democratic parties during their recent campaigning.

Both are prohibited by law from claiming a political party for the course of the non-partisan campaign.

And both are governed by the state judicial code from directly addressing questions or making statements on how they might rule from the bench, while campaigning.

Both men, however, are touting their backgrounds, their work ethic and civic involvement in their communities.

Nations, who has been active in campaigning for the job, says Washington County is one big county, when it comes to attending pancake breakfasts, chamber dinners, civic clubs and community gatherings.

"I can't tell you how many miles I have traveled, it is just part of the process, but it is a good process," Nations said. "I have met many good people and seen a lot more of Washington County than the western part where I have lived for the last 20-plus years.

Nations and his wife Melanie have two daughters, Ella, 13 and Maggie, 7. He has been active in the Prairie Grove Chamber of Commerce and First United Methodist Church of Prairie Grove where he has served on the board and for years played guitar in the praise band.

Nations also has been a former city attorney for Prairie Grove and a former city prosecutor for the city. He is in his third term as District Court judge and has run unopposed since defeating Davis for the post in 2004.

Copeland, a native of Greenland, also has been active in the campaign since announcing for the position in October.

"It's going well," he said of campaigning. "You sort of tell people who you are, what you do and what all you have done and they make the decision on who to elect."

Copeland was appointed to Prairie Grove City Council in 2010 and then ran unopposed for the position in the November 2010 general election. He is in his sixth year as an elected alderman and has served on several city committees during that time.

Copeland says he has been active in community activities and rearing his family. He served two terms as a Justice of the Peace on the Washington County Quorum Court over a decade ago.

He and his spouse Cohen, a part-time court reporter, have two sons Gregory, 9, and Killian, 2. Copeland has another son, Jackson, 14, from a previous marriage

There are three other District Court candidates all running unopposed in Washington County: Division 1, Judge Jeff Harper; Division 3, Clinton (Casey) Jones; and Division 4, Judge Bill Storey.