---
title: "Margaret Dobson | KnowJudges"
canonical: "https://knowjudges.com/kyj/judge/margaret-dobson-circuit-judge-seventh-judicial-circuit-seventh-judicial-circuit-division-1-ar"
page_type: "judge_profile"
updated: "2026-10-07"
---

# Margaret Dobson

Seventh Judicial Circuit · Circuit Judge

## Profile

- Court: Seventh 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

- The Division 1 Circuit Judge for Arkansas’s Seventh Judicial Circuit, serving Grant and Hot Spring Counties since April 2024
- United States District Court law clerk for the Eastern District of Arkansas

### Education

- J.D. with highest honors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Law

### Additional information

- Judicial Service: Appointed Special Associate Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in 2016 Hot Spring County Currently serves on a committee educating judges and lawyers about AI
- Term: Serves until December 31, 2026; not eligible for re-election
- Appointment: Named by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in April 2024, succeeding Judge Chris Williams, who resigned after a Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission investigation
- Recognized for extensive litigation, trial, and appellate experience, as well as work in family law, probate, and public defense.
- City Attorney and Prosecutor for multiple Arkansas municipalities, including Redfield, Haskell, and Alexander
- Office: 210 Locust Street, Malvern, AR 72104
- Contact: Phone (501) 337‐7651
- Her appointment ended her private practice, which was taken over by attorney Lauren Manatt Deltaplex News.
- BBA from Harding University
- Past President of the Arkansas Bar Association