Josephine L. Hart

Early life Hart was born in her grandmother's home in Perryville. At a few days old her family relocated to her father's farm in Russellville. Hart decided at a young age to follow a career in law. A personal family matter is what spurred her to this decision. Hart's family lived off of the farm until her family's fertile farmland was proposed to be taken by eminent domain to build Lake Dardanelle. In 1965 Hart received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Arkansas Tech University.

Career

Military service After graduating from college, Hart joined the United States Army and was deployed to Army Headquarters in Japan in 1966. She then was sent to Vietnam at the height of the Vietnam War. Hart was made an administrative chief of a unit comprising 500 people. Hart sorted all correspondence that went through the area, including the leaflets that were dropped over Vietnam. In Vietnam she was promoted to the position of Captain, and for a majority of Hart's time in Vietnam she was the only officer that was female. Hart is quoted as saying about her time in Vietnam, “I was a junior captain in a senior major’s spot, and it had never been filled by a woman before,” but I never had any problems with it. It was a seven-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day operation, and you just did your job.” She served until her term expired in 2020. Throughout her career Hart faced, at times, being the only woman in the room. In response to the possibility of having faced discrimination because of her gender she states, "I don't think I ever had a problem being discriminated against ... what I found out was that if you did your work and you did it well, most people are glad to see you."

Judicial controversies In 2018, the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disciplinary Commission (AJDDC) filed an ethical misconduct complaint against the Arkansas Supreme Court, including Josephine Hart. The charges were brought up after a complaint was filed by Wendell Griffen, a Pulaski county judge, in 2017.

Judge Josephine Linker Hart & Guilford M. Dudley, Available Post-Trial Relief After a State Criminal Conviction When Newly Discovered Evidence Establishes “Actual Innocence,” 22 U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev. 629 (2000).

Judge Josephine Linker Hart & Guilford M. Dudley, The Unpublished Rules of the Arkansas Court of Appeals: The Internal Rules and Procedures of the Arkansas Court of Appeals, 33 U. Ark. Little Rock L. Rev. 109 (2011).