ARKANSAS SUPREME COURT PROCEEDINGS OF JUNE 29, 2023 PER CURIAM ORDERS In Memory of Justice Robin F. Wynne. See per curiam this date. Today we recognize Justice Robin F. Wynne’s remarkable legacy as we mourn a great loss to our Court and to our State. The people of Arkansas recently elected Justice Wynne to a second term on the Court, which he began in January of this year.
Justice Wynne grew up in Fordyce, Arkansas, and—like his father and his two older brothers—he earned his undergraduate degree at Harvard College, where he majored in history and graduated cum laude. Justice Wynne then obtained a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville. He also attended the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. The United Methodist Church remained at the center of his life. Justice Wynne returned to Fordyce to practice at his family’s well-respected law firm. Over the years, in addition to being a partner at Wynne & Wynne Law Firm, he served as Fordyce City Attorney, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney for the 13th Judicial District, Arkansas State Representative (1985–1988), and Fordyce School District Board Member, among other roles.
With this broad experience, Justice Wynne joined the judiciary as district judge in Dallas County in 2004. Later, he was elected to the Arkansas Court of Appeals, District 5, and served in that capacity from 2011 until 2014. Justice Wynne was sworn in as a Justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2015, and he faithfully fulfilled the duties of his office until his death on June 21, 2023. While on the Court, Justice Wynne served as liaison to the Committee on the Unauthorized Practice of Law, the Client Security Fund Committee, and the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission.
Justice Wynne will be remembered for his dedication to the rule of law, his belief in the nonpartisan judiciary, his commitment to collegiality, and his love for the institution of which he was so proud to be a part. Justice Wynne never forgot the members of the bar or the reality of law practice. He taught and mentored generations of lawyers.
We offer our heartfelt condolences to Justice Wynne’s wife, Margo Sanders Wynne, and to his entire family. He will be deeply missed.
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