Annabelle Davis Clinton Imber Tuck (born July 15, 1950) is an American lawyer who served as an associate justice of the

Arkansas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Arkansas is the highest court in the state judiciary of Arkansas. It has ultimate and largely discretionary appellate jurisdiction over all state court cases that involve a point of state law, and original jurisdiction ...

for thirteen years. The first woman elected to the Arkansas Supreme Court, Imber is best known for a case she handled while she was a chancery judge in the 6th Judicial District (Perry and Pulaski counties).

Early life and career

Tuck was born in

Heber Springs, Arkansas Heber Springs is a city in and the county seat of Cleburne County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 6,969 as of the 2020 Census. Geography Heber Springs is located near the center of Cleburne County. Arkansas Highway 5 bypasses the ...

and spent early years in

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

and

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

as her father moved for jobs within the

International Cooperation Administration The International Cooperation Administration (ICA) was a United States government agency operating from June 30, 1955, until September 4, 1961, responsible for foreign assistance and 'nonmilitary security' programs. It was the predecessor of the ...

. She later moved to the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also referred to as the National Capital Region, Greater Washington, or locally as the DMV (short for Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia), is the metropolitan area comprising Washing ...

, living with family and attending

Prince George's County Public Schools Prince George's County Public Schools (PGCPS) is a public school district that serves Prince George's County, Maryland. During the 2023–24 academic year, the district enrolled around 133,000 students and operated over 200 schools. PGCPS is t ...

, graduating from

Crossland High School Crossland High School is a public secondary school located in Camp Springs census-designated place, unincorporated Prince George's County, Maryland, with Temple Hills postal address.Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

Northampton, Massachusetts The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of Northampton (including its outer villages, Florence, Massachusetts, Florence and ...

and her

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

University of Arkansas at Little Rock The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock, UALR) is a Public university, public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the ...

while working as a

paralegal A paralegal, also known as a legal assistant or paralegal specialist, is a legal professional who performs tasks that require knowledge of legal concepts but not the full expertise of a lawyer with an admission to practice law. The market for p ...

. Prior to taking the bench, Imber was in private practice for several years with the Little Rock law firm of Wright, Lindsey & Jennings. In 1984,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

(no relation to her then-husband) appointed her to a vacant criminal division judgeship on the Pulaski County Circuit Court. In 1988, she was elected chancery and probate judge for Pulaski and Perry counties. In 1994, she issued a landmark ruling in the school-funding case filed by the tiny Lake View School District that declared the state was violating the

Arkansas Constitution The Constitution of Arkansas is the primary organizing law for the U.S. state of Arkansas delineating the duties, powers, structures, and functions of the state government. Arkansas' original constitution was adopted at a constitutional conv ...

by funding districts inequitably.

Supreme Court

Imber was elected to the Supreme Court in 1997 without opposition, after serving eight years as an elected chancery and probate court judge for Pulaski and Perry counties. She was reelected twice. On September 10, 2009, Imber announced plans to retire from the bench. She retired January 1, 2010.

References

External links

Interview for the Arkansas Supreme Court Historical Society
1950 births Living people 20th-century American women judges 20th-century Arkansas state court judges 21st-century American women judges 21st-century American judges American women lawyers Arkansas state court judges Justices of the Arkansas Supreme Court Smith College alumni University of Arkansas at Little Rock alumni {{Arkansas-state-judge-stub