Arkansas

The state of Arkansas was the 25th state admitted to the United States on June 15, 1836. With an area of just over 53,000 miles it is the 29th largest state, and with a population of just under 3 million is the 33rd most populous US State. The US Census classifies the state as a Southern territory, with the Mississippi River running across a majority of the state’s eastern border. The state is split into highland and lowlands featuring several regions including the: Ozark Mountains, Gulf Coastal Plain, Arkansas River Valley, Arkansas Delta, and Crowley’s Ridge. The state capital is Little Rock.  I was the 25^th state to join the Union.

Arkansas has a state government where power is broken into three branches: the executive, judicial and legislative branch. 

The executive branch consists of seven elected officials: the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor and land commission.  Each elected official is restrained by a term limits, of two full terms plus any partial terms before the first full terms.  Additionally, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately, so they can be from different political parties.  The governor also appoints leaders to various state commissions, boards, etc. as part of his job.

The legislative branch is housed in the Arkansas General Assembly, broken into the Senate and the House of Representatives.  Staggered elections ensure that half of the Senate is up for re-election every two years, and the entire elected body turns over following redistricting.  For the House of Representatives, res can serve a max of three two-year terms.

The judicial branch has five court systems: Arkansas Supreme Court, Arkansas Court of Appeals, Circuit Courts, District Courts and City Courts.

The Arkansas Supreme Court is made up of seven justices, each elected to an eight-year term.  This court has the final word in the state, and its decisions can only be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.

The Arkansas district court is broken into the state district court and the local district court, and this is where most cases begin.  District courts are presided over by judges who may also privately practice law. 

The National Law Review covers a wide range of civil rights, election news, legislative and agency-related news, state and federal news, immigration topics, healthcare and medicine, and general information about the state. Any upcoming election news, or important topics which may affect the country, or surrounding regions, are also covered by The National Law Review along with news coming out of the Eighth CIrcuit Court of Appeals which has jurisdiction over Arkansas.