David Newbern

William David Newbern (born May 28, 1937) was a justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court from 1985 to 1998.

Education, military service, and teaching career Born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, he studied history and law at the University of Arkansas (UA) in Fayetteville and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. He received an undergraduate law degree from UA in 1959 and a juris doctor degree from UA in 1961.

Following his military service, he "taught law at UA [and] was acting dean of the law school for a period in 1972–73". Returning to his professorial role, he chaired the faculty appointments committee from 1974 to 1975, where he oversaw the hiring of Bill Clinton to the law school faculty. but in 1984 was elected to a vacant seat on the state supreme court. Due to ethical rules prohibiting judicial candidates from campaigning on legal issues, Newbern "took his guitar and sang folk songs at political rallies", and "refused the demand of his runoff opponent that they debate the death penalty, pornography, school consolidation, and other potential controversial issues before the court".

As a justice, Newbern "brought an academic manner to the court's internal proceedings, sometimes bringing a flip chart to the court's weekly conference to lay out the issues in a case".