---
title: "Craig Hannah | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/craig-hannah-circuit-judge-seventeenth-judicial-circuit-seventeenth-judicial-circuit-division-3-ar"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Craig Hannah

Seventeenth Judicial Circuit · Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: Seventeenth Judicial Circuit
- State: Arkansas
- Role: Circuit Judge
- Service status: active
- Last verified: 2026-07-26

## Summary

Official statewide and applicable court procedural guidance applies to this judge.

## Before you appear

- Read the judge-specific standing order first when one is listed.
- Check the docket and case orders for requirements that supersede broader guidance.
- Confirm current remote-access and courtroom technology arrangements before the proceeding.

## Courtroom Rules

### remote hearing platform

Scope: statewide

Arkansas Judiciary publishes electronic-hearing Zoom resources and court-user guides for remote proceedings.

Evidence excerpt: Zoom Guides for Court Users

[Arkansas Judiciary: Electronic Hearings With Zoom](https://arcourts.gov/arkansas-supreme-court-statement-novel-coronavirus-outbreak-and-courts/electronic-hearings-zoom)
Source checked: 2026-07-26

### audio recording

Scope: statewide

Arkansas Judiciary publishes state-district-court digital audio recording guidance as an official court resource.

Evidence excerpt: AOC Provisional Guidelines for Digital Audio Recording in State District Courts

[Arkansas Judiciary: District Courts](https://arcourts.gov/courts/district-courts)
Source checked: 2026-07-26


## Sources

- [Official profile](https://arcourts.gov/directories/circuit-judges)
- [Official roster](https://arcourts.gov/directories/circuit-judges)
- [Arkansas Judiciary official judicial roster](https://arcourts.gov/directories/circuit-judges)
- [Arkansas Judiciary: Electronic Hearings With Zoom](https://arcourts.gov/arkansas-supreme-court-statement-novel-coronavirus-outbreak-and-courts/electronic-hearings-zoom)
- [Arkansas Judiciary: District Courts](https://arcourts.gov/courts/district-courts)

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## Biography

### Professional career

- Buffalo City Court Judge — Served from 2006, elected in 2006; became Chief Judge in 2019
- Presiding Judge, First Opioid Intervention Court — Established in Buffalo in 2017; recognized nationally for innovative treatment court models
- Acting Erie County Court Judge (2008) — Handled juvenile matters NYAppDiv4

### Education

- Buffalo School of Law — J.D. (1995)

### Additional information

- Justice, New York Supreme Court, 8th Judicial District — Appointed in 2022 and elected to a full 14‐year term in November 2022; term ends 2036.
- Associate Justice, Appellate Division, Fourth Department — Appointed by Governor Kathy Hochul on March 28, 2024; term ends December 31, 2026.
- Outstanding Jurist Award — New York State Bar Association, Criminal Division (2018).
- First Supervising Judge of Color in Western New York
- overseeing 11 city courts in the 8th Judicial District NYAppDiv4.
- Widely credited with transforming addiction treatment through the opioid intervention court model, which has been replicated in other jurisdictions.
- Craig D. Hannah is an Associate Justice of the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, and a judge of the New York Supreme Court, 8th Judicial District, known for pioneering the first Opioid Intervention Court in the U.S.
- Member of the Franklin H. Williams Judicial Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness NYAppDiv4.
- Personal milestone: 23+ years of clean time as a person in recovery NYAppDiv4.
- International lecturer on treatment courts and addiction recovery.