UPDATE ON AN ITEM LAST NIGHT: I now have five different people telling me that they expect Court of Appeals Judge Jo Hart to run for a vacancy on the Arkansas Supreme Court next year and that she’s made arrangements with campaign consultants for the race. But I haven’t been able to reach Hart herself. She’d run for the open seat for which Court of Appeals Judge Raymond Abramson had previously announced. Other trial court judges are reportedly considering the race.

Court races are only occasionally lively, but they are important. The business lobby is increasingly turning attention to them, in fact, precisely because of their importance.

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UPDATE II: Judge Hart called me this afternoon and confirmed that she’ll be making the race and plans a formal announcement soon.

“I’m just convinced that they need some experience on that court and I think I have that experience,” She said. Hart, 68, has been on the bench more than 20 years. Her current opponent has served about a year by appointment. She said she didn’t intend to run a campaign that focused on whoever her opposition might be. “I’m just of the firm belief that contested races are good for the people,” she said. “They should have a choice.”

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