Court Opinion

ID: 9405818
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-29 15:05:05.848758+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:24.981293
License: Public Domain

Cite as 2023 Ark. 117
                 SUPREME COURT OF ARKANSAS
                                                   Opinion Delivered:   June 29, 2023
 IN MEMORY OF JUSTICE
 ROBIN F. WYNNE

                                         PER CURIAM

        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.