Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders appointed Judge Margaret Dobson to serve as Circuit Judge for the Seventh Judicial District—covering Grant and Hot Spring counties—and she was sworn in on May  6,  2024 by Arkansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Dan Kemp at the Grant County Courthouse. She made history as the first Arkansas Bar Association president—and the first woman in that role—to assume the bench during her Bar Association term, and the first woman ever to serve as circuit judge in the Seventh Judicial District.

Before her call to serve on the circuit bench, Margaret built her legal career as a solo practitioner in Sheridan. She served as a prosecutor for three cities, as City Attorney for Redfield, and as an attorney  ad  litem, advocating for children and vulnerable adults throughout Arkansas. In 2021, Governor Asa Hutchinson appointed her to sit as Special Justice on the Arkansas Supreme Court.

Outside the courtroom, Judge Dobson is an active Lion, and a former Rotarian and Paul Harris Fellow.  She has served on both local and regional library boards, and lends her expertise to the Incubator Committee at the Bowen School of Law. She and her husband, David, are the proud parents of three sons and are deeply involved in their church and the Boy Scouts of America.

A scholar from the start, Margaret graduated  cum  laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration from Harding University in 1990 and earned her Juris Doctor  with  highest honors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law in 1999, where she served as Executive Editor of the Law Review.

“I was honored to be appointed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders as Circuit Judge, and have been proud to serve our community over the last year. I am now humbly asking for the voters’ support so that I may continue to serve our community on the bench,” Judge Dobson said. “As your Circuit Judge, Position 2, I will uphold our laws with compassion, respect, and an unwavering commitment to justice.”

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